


Otherwise Engaged

by JustAsSweet



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019), The Proposal (2009)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Compliant Minor Character Death, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Gay Character, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Drama, Fluffy Angst, Green Card Marriage, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Character Death, Panic Attack, Past Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin, Past Military Service, Past arson, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, The Proposal AU, mentioned ann evans, mentioned jenna cameron, mentioned jesse manes, mentioned mimi deluca, mentioned noah bracken, mentioned parent with degenerative mental condition, michael guerin was adopted, minor character pregnancy, non-fatal accident on the water, past death by smoke inhalation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25936837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAsSweet/pseuds/JustAsSweet
Summary: Alex Manes was perfectly happy with his job at Colden Records but when his visa is rejected and deportation looms, marrying his assistant Michael Evans is his only option. And when they make a trip to Alaska to see Michael's family, everything becomes a lot more complicated.AKA:The ProposalAU that no one asked for but I wrote anyway.
Relationships: Maria DeLuca & Michael Guerin, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 22
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an accident. I rewatched _The Proposal_ recently because I wanted a fluffy romcom night, and a Malex au jumped out and bit me. Rudely, I might add. For those of you familiar with the movie be aware that I’ve cut out Gammy, Ramone, and Kevin, though of course some of their story elements remain. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it’s a great time! Also, the entire plot hinges on a character getting strongarmed (at first) into a fake engagement scenario so if that’s not your cup of tea I’d recommend something else.
> 
> Otherwise, be warned there is a significant amount of handwaving around professions; to anyone in the music industry or the bar/service industry I can only say that sacrifices to plot had to be made. I have tried to include vague warnings for potential triggers at the start of each chapter with more details in the end notes if they are needed, and please know that I benefit from several privileges that a few of the characters do not. If I’ve written anything that rubs the wrong way, please let me know. Find a podfic version of this fic [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447287).
> 
> Shout out to [buriedbybooks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedbybooks) for reading this over for me. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a brief mention of a homophobic parent, see the end of the chapter for details.

It started as an average morning. Maybe even slightly above average; Alex was on the phone with Rosa Ortecho and he had a feeling he had her on the ropes. He should have known it was too good to last; the other shoe had never waited long to drop in his experience.

“Look. My sister is having a baby and I just-”

Alex cut her off. “Perfect! Your art will inspire generations, your niece or nephew included, it’s great timing.”

“...That’s a load of crap Manes, you know that? Does that ever work?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Rosa snorted and he knew he had a chance.

“Just a sit down. That’s all I’m asking, a quick lunch with the artist. Jenna Cameron, she’s an up-and-coming country rock star. She’s a fan of your work, you know. Requested you specifically.”

Rosa paused on the other end of the line and Alex held his breath.

“Alright Manes. I’ll meet with a fan.”

Alex closed his eyes and resisted the urge to punch the air.

“But I’m not promising anything!”

“Of course not, Rosa. I’ll put you down for just lunch.”

“Fine. I have to go, email me the details.”

“Sure thing.”

The call went dead and Alex slowly put his phone down on the desk, allowing himself to bask in the moment. He had been trying to get Rosa Ortecho to consider meeting with this artist to do her album cover for _weeks_. Well. He hadn’t actually been the one doing the trying, which lead to the next piece of business on his to-do list.

He poked his head into Wyatt Long’s office to find him leaned back in his chair with his feet up on the desk.

Alex knocked. “‘Morning Wyatt.”

Wyatt looked up and gave a small smirk. “‘Morning Lexie.”

Alex thinned his lips. Wyatt liked to call him ‘Lexie’ because he thought it was clever to give a gay man a feminine nickname. If he was honest, he might take more enjoyment out of crossing this off his list than he did with Rosa’s call.

Alex straightened in the doorway. “Wyatt, I’m letting you go.”

Wyatt’s feet dropped with a thud.

“...Excuse me?”

Alex raised his chin. “I asked you a dozen times to call Rosa Ortecho about doing the cover art for the Cameron album and you didn’t do it. You’re fired.”

Wyatt spread his arms, smiling apologetically in what he probably thought was a friendly way. “I have told you that’s impossible, she only does cover art for books.”

“Well that’s interesting, because i just got off the phone with her and she’s in.” Alex was stretching the truth, but that wasn’t the point here. The point was... 

“You didn't even call her did you.” It wasn’t a question. 

Wyatt’s smile disappeared. “But-”

“I know, I know,” Alex sighed. “Rosa can be a little scary to deal with. But I asked you to handle it and you didn’t. I will give you two months to find another job and then you can tell everyone you resigned, ok?”

It was more than he deserved. Wyatt Long had been a thorn in Alex’s side since he’d started at Colden Records two years ago, and he doubted Wyatt would have lasted this long if his father hadn’t been an influential investor. Wyatt didn’t look like he knew how good a deal he’d just been offered though, and Alex hoped Wyatt wasn’t about to do what Alex thought he was going to.

“You can't fire me!”

So much for wishful thinking.

Wyatt stood up angrily from behind his desk, his face an ugly red. “You don’t think I see what you’re doing here? You're trying to smear my name.” He nodded to himself like he thought he actually had a convincing argument, advancing on Alex as he gained confidence. “Yeah. You’re pissed that I wouldn't sleep with you so you’re gonna try to make everyone think I’m racist by saying I wouldn't talk to that Ortecho woman.” Wyatt finished with a flourish and a smug look, stopping about a foot from where Alex stood in the doorway.

Alex closed his eyes and willed himself to be calm. He set his jaw and met Wyatt’s gaze head-on. “I didn’t fire you because you wouldn’t sleep with me. Which, by the way, I never asked you to do.” Wyatt’s eyes narrowed and Alex plowed on. “I fired you because you’re lazy, entitled, incompetant, and you are, in fact, racist. And if you say another word, I will personally escort you out right now and you forfeit the chance to leave with dignity.”

Wyatt opened his mouth.

Alex held up his hand and Wyatt’s teeth clicked together. 

“Another. Word. And I get to put my time in the service to practical use. Is that what you want?” Alex leveled a look at Wyatt and waited. Even down half a leg Alex could take him easily and they both knew it.

Wyatt glared sullenly, but he backed down.

“Didn’t think so,” Alex checked his watch. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” He turned on his heel and headed down the hallway, mentally crossing another item off his to-do list. 

When he got back to his office Michael was there, shuffling paperwork.

Michael looked up in mild surprise. “You’re here early.”

Alex waved a hand. “I had a phone call I needed to make.”

Micheal nodded. It was common knowledge around the company that Alex kept odd hours; no one really questioned it anymore since he’d proved to be extremely good at his job. 

“Ok.” Michael settled his hip on the desk, apparently ready to be briefed for the day. “What’d I miss?”

Alex busied himself with checking his calendar, making sure his new lunch appointment was down correctly. “Oh nothing, I just had to fire Wyatt.”

Michael straightened in shock. “What?!”

Alex ignored him. “And I need you this weekend.”

“But I had-”

Alex cut him off with a sharp look. “Cancel it. I need you. Now that Wyatt’s gone I have to go through all the artists he was handling, badly, and make sure they don’t get lost in the shuffle.”

Michael deflated and Alex forced a twinge of sympathy down. The thought of facing the pile of paperwork Wyatt was leaving behind by himself removed any guilt he might have had for ruining his assistant’s plans.

Michael picked up the pile he had been organising and slumped out of the office towards his desk. Alex sat down and started clicking through his emails, but he couldn’t help hearing Michael’s voice on the phone. 

“Max? Hey man-yeah I know it’s really early but I can only call now. About this weekend-”

A new email pinged in his inbox and Alex skimmed it. He stood and walked to the door, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms. Michael’s back was to him and he was still on the phone.

“Look Max I know. I know! It’s your first kid, I wanted to be there for the shower too. Tell Liz I’m really sorry-”

Alex cleared his throat.

Michael turned and Alex raised his eyebrows.

“...Gotta go.” Michael hung up and stared at the phone for a second. He abruptly looked at Alex, challenging. “Did you listen to that demo I gave you?”

Alex’s gut twisted. He should have expected this sooner rather than later. “A few minutes. I wasn’t that impressed.” He waved his hand dismissively, hoping Michael would drop the subject.

Michael narrowed his eyes, not backing down. “I’ve listened to thousands of demos, I know what quality sounds like. That’s it.”

“I disagree,” Alex said shortly. “Kyle said he needs me upstairs, come get me in 10 minutes. I have a busy day.” He turned for the elevator before Michael could say another word, heart pounding. 

He and Michael worked well together, even if there was no illusion of friendship. Alex trusted more to Michael than he ever would have to Wyatt, and Michael met every expectation. In fact he usually exceeded it. But, Michael had only started in the A&R office as a coffee-fetching intern to get a foot in the door. What he actually wanted was to be a sound engineer and work in the recording booth with the artists. The problem was, Michael was very good at his current job. And Alex was loath to lose him.

Alex brushed the thought away as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out, ready for whatever Kyle might want.

“Alex, hey! Thanks for getting up here so quickly.” Kyle greeted him as he walked through the door. He gestured to a chair but Alex declined with a shake of his head. He wanted to keep this meeting as short as possible, already thinking about what he needed to do when he got back to his office.

Kyle shrugged and leaned his elbows on his desk, folding his hands together and tucking them under his chin, “Do you remember when we agreed you wouldn’t go to Glastonbury because you weren’t allowed out of the country while your visa application was being processed?”

Alex thought for a moment. “Yes, I do.”

Kyle pursed his lips. “And yet you...went to Glastonbury.”

“I did.” Alex straightened his shoulders, viciously shoving down a surge of anxiety. He didn’t like where this was going. “No one else was available and Glastonbury is one of the most important festivals of the year to find new talent.”

Kyle nodded. “Unfortunately, it seems the US government doesn't care as much as you do about new talent.” He gestured at the phone on his desk. “I just spoke to your immigration attorney; your visa application has been denied and you’re being deported.”

Alex’s brain shorted out. “But I’m barely an immigrant, I’m from Canada!” he blurted without thinking.

Kyle snorted, and Alex flushed.

“There’s gotta be something we can do.” Alex’s mind raced. He was woefully uninformed on the minutiae of immigration law, which was quickly becoming deeply ironic.

“We can reapply, but unfortunately you have to leave the country for at least a year.” 

Alex nodded slowly, cautiously forming a plan. “Ok, well that's not ideal. But I can manage everything from Toronto with video conferencing and-”

Kyle shook his head, cutting him off. “If you're deported you cannot work for an American company. Until this is resolved I'm going to turn operations over to Wyatt Long.”

Alex stared at him in disbelief. “Wyatt Long. The guy I just fired.” 

Kyle winced. “He’s the only person in the building with enough experience to fill your position.” He had the decency to look apologetic, Kyle himself had been the butt of several of Wyatt’s tamer racist comments.

Alex scoffed and Kyle put his hands up defensively.

“Look, I’m desperate to have you stay. If there was any way, _any way_ at all we could make this work, we’d be doing it.”

Alex’s heart sank. He had come to the US to get away from his past; New Mexico specifically because it seemed the polar opposite of everything he was leaving behind in every way. Being deported, being sent back to Canada and losing his place here, would destroy everything he’d worked for, undercut every sacrifice he’d made.

Alex was distracted from his spiraling thoughts by a knock on the door. He turned to find Michael in the doorway looking strained, and Alex sighed impatiently.

“Yes? What?”

Michael’s eyes flashed in annoyance at his tone, but he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “There’s a call for you in your office. I told them you were engaged but they were pretty insistent.”

Alex’s mind latched onto exactly one word and he sucked in a breath. _Engaged._ Michael stopped short at the sound and gave him a funny look. Alex widened his eyes and jerked his chin at him, trying to get him to come closer, but Michael just looked confused. Alex tried to gesture him closer subtly with his hand and Michael inched cautiously into the room, gaze jumping between Alex and Kyle.

Alex cleared his throat and looked back at Kyle who was eying him warily. “I understand the predicament that we are in, and there's something you should know.” Alex reached back and tugged Michael the last few steps over to him, awkwardly tucking their arms together. “Michael and I are getting married.”

Alex felt Michael’s arm tense under his, his whole body going rigid next to him. Alex stared fixedly at Kyle and willed Michael to stay silent. 

“Oh.” Kyle looked surprised and he paused. “I didn’t know you were…” He trailed off awkwardly with a vague gesture in Michael’s direction.

Alex saw a muscle twitch in Michael’s jaw out of the corner of his eye and his stomach clenched in response. Michael had never _said_ anything about Alex being gay but, as he knew from experience, not expressing homophobia openly and not being homophobic were two different things. 

“I’m bisexual.” Michael said shortly, and Alex nearly slumped in relief.

“Ah.” Kyle tapped his pen distractedly against his desk, something clearly still bothering him. “Isn’t he your secretary?” He squinted at Alex.

Alex could practically feel Michael seething next to him and he squeezed his arm in warning. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he said with a rueful air. “We’re just two people who weren’t meant to fall in love, but did. Late nights, long weekends, you know how it goes.” He forced a laugh and hoped Kyle would drop the subject.

“Ok fine. Just ah. Make it legal.” Kyle tapped his left ring finger and looked back down at his paperwork, dismissing them.

“Of course,” Alex said, relieved. He backed towards the door before Kyle could change his mind, pulling Michael with him. “We’ll get ourselves to the immigration office this afternoon.” 

They made it to the hallway and Alex set off for his office, hearing Michael behind him. Michael was uncharacteristically quiet on the ride down the elevator, and Alex wasn’t surprised when he followed Alex into his office and shut the door. Alex ignored the tension as long as he could, sitting calmly at his desk and opening his email again. Finally, the silent weight of Michael’s eyes on him became too much and he looked up.

“What.”

“I don't understand what’s happening.” Michael had the dazed air of someone who had been hit over the head with a dictionary, and Alex bristled at a swirl of guilt.

“This is for you, too,” he said curtly.

Michael gave a disbelieving laugh. “Do explain.”

“They were going to put Wyatt in my office.”Alex huffed, as if that made everything clear. It should have, if Michael was reading between the lines like he normally could. But the sheer unexpectedness of the turn of events seemed to have rattled him enough that he didn’t get it.

“So naturally I would have to marry you.” Michael snapped, starting to get over his shock and get angry instead.

Alex tipped him a sarcastic look. “Were you saving yourself for someone special?”

“At least someone I'd had the ‘kids talk’ with.” Michael pressed his palms to his eyes and breathed for a moment, which was convenient as it meant he missed Alex recoiling as though he’d been slapped.

He hadn’t considered what Michael might want from a real relationship. Guilt prickled at him again, and he shoved it down. He needed this, he couldn’t get wrapped up in Michael’s problems. 

Michael dropped his hands abruptly and looked back at Alex. “Besides, it’s illegal!”

Alex tsked and focused back on his emails. “They're looking for terrorists, not A&R guys like me.”

“Alex.”

Alex looked up to find Michael staring at him, determined. 

“Yes,” he asked, voice more calm than he felt.

“I’m not going to marry you.”

Michael was matter-of-fact in a way that booked no argument, and Alex took a moment to gather his thoughts. He needed to make this count.

“Wyatt’s gonna fire you the second I'm gone, guaranteed.” Alex met Michael’s gaze levelly and pushed on, folding his hands in front of him on the desk. “He’s always resented both of us for the fact that I poached you from him when I started here. That means you’re out on the street, alone, looking for a job. And that means all the time we’ve spent together, all the coffees, late nights, and canceled weekend plans; all of them were for nothing and your dreams of being a sound engineer are gone.”

Michael rocked back on his heels and blinked. He pushed out a breath and looked away, the fight draining from him. Alex’s gut twisted and he relented a little.

“I know it’s not the best arrangement.” Alex turned back to his computer to give Michael some space. “Don't worry, after the required allotment of time we’ll get a quickie divorce and you’ll be done with me. But until then, like it or not, your wagon is hitched to mine.”

Michael pushed a hand through his short curls and stood for a moment, motionless as he absorbed everything.

“That was a good cover by the way.” Alex said, filling the awkward silence. Michael was always moving, it made Alex uneasy to see him so still.

“What was?” Michael asked absently, apparently still lost in thought.

“Bisexual.” Alex saw Michael tense and drop his hand into a fist at his side, and he hurried on. “I mean, everyone knows you’ve had at least one girlfriend before so -”

“It wasn’t a cover.” Michael cut him off impatiently

Alex paused, his fingers stilling on the keyboard. “What?”

“It wasn’t a cover. I’m actually bisexual.” 

Alex gaped at him. “You’re-” he didn’t have the words for what he wanted to ask. ‘How did I not know that’ was what was coming to mind, but something in his hindbrain told him that wasn’t a question he should expect Michael to answer so all he managed was “...how?”

Michael gave him a flat look. “I like both women AND men, it’s not that complicated.” 

Alex dismissed the sarcasm with a wave of his hand, doing his best to pretend the flush he could feel creeping up his neck wasn’t there. “I mean when did you...how long have you been…”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “Out? Since always, I don’t hide it. Which you would _know_ if you paid an iota of attention to literally any other human being.” Michael flung an arm out to where his desk sat on the other side of the door. “I have a bi pride flag my brother gave me sitting in my pencil holder next to my computer. I came into work covered in glitter after my sister dragged me to a gay bar over the weekend at Pride this year.” He shot Alex a disbelieving glance. “Did you seriously not notice?”

Alex swallowed guiltily. He _had_ noticed the glitter but…”I thought that was from, uh -” He didn’t want to finish the sentence but he didn’t have to; Michael read “strip club” in his expression and rolled his eyes.

“Nice to know you think so highly of me.”

Alex bristled. “Excuse me, Mr. Out And Proud, next time I will naturally assume the man who greets coworkers with “‘sup bro” and never makes any reference to a male partner is definitely not straight, and any glitter he may have on him is certainly from a gay bar and not from a strip club.”

Michael tilted his head as if he hadn’t heard Alex. “I think you assuming I’m straight is the most insulting thing you’ve ever done, and that’s saying something.”

Alex was saved from trying to respond by the phone ringing. He pointed meaningfully and Michael went, smirking at him on the way out. 

_Fuck._

What had he done?

\---

When they got to the immigration office, they were shown to a small room in the back with a man wearing a bad toupee folded behind a desk that was too small for him. He stood as they came in and Alex offered his hand.

“We can’t tell you how much we appreciate you meeting with us on such short notice Mr.-?”

“Green. Graham Green.” The man shook his hand briefly and gestured for them to sit in two worn-looking chairs opposite his desk.

When they had, Green opened the folder he’d been handed by the clerical worker and made a satisfied noise. “So. I have one question for you.” He looked up and pointed at Alex. “Are you both committing fraud to avoid his deportation so he can keep his position in A&R at Colden Records?”

Alex’s stomach dropped, and he very deliberately did not turn to look at Michael.

“That's ridiculous.”

“Where did you hear that?”

He and Michael spoke at the same time, and Alex watched as Green glanced back at the folder.

“We got a phone tip from a man named-”

Alex’s unease lifted so quickly he felt giddy, and he interrupted Green. “Would that be ‘Wyatt Long’?”

Green jerked back to Alex in surprise. 

“-Wyatt Long,” he finished suspiciously.

Alex waved a hand dismissively with a casualness he didn’t feel. “Nothing but a disgruntled former employee, I am so sorry he’s bothered you with this. I know you’re incredibly busy. If you just give us our next step we’ll be out of your hair and on our way.” He smiled in what he hoped was an ingratiating way.

Green nodded, considering, then let the folder fall closed and clasped his hands in front of him on the desk.

“Let me explain to you the process that’s about to unfold.” He glanced between them as he spoke, eyes narrowed and counting on his fingers as he hit each point. “Step one will be a scheduled interview. I’ll put you each in a room and ask you questions a real couple would know. Step two, I dig deeper. I look at your phone records, talk to your neighbors, interview your coworkers. If your answers don’t match up at any point,” he looked at Alex, “you will be deported indefinitely and you, young man,” he turned his gaze on Michael, “will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of $250,000 and a stay of five years in a federal prison.”

Alex was numb, and Michael looked pale when Alex snuck a glance at him. Alex stared fixedly at Green’s thumbs, trying to ignore his pulse pounding in his ears.

“So.” Green leaned back in his chair. “Michael. You wanna talk to me?” He raised his eyebrows with the air of a man holding all the cards, and Alex felt sick at the realisation that he actually was.

Michael was silent for an eternal moment, then he cleared his throat.

“The truth is…” 

Alex held his breath as discreetly as possible.

Michael’s voice wavered, but grew stronger as he went on. “The truth is, Alex and I are two people who weren’t supposed to fall in love, but did.”

Alex wasn't sure if the spots dancing in front of his eyes were because of lack of oxygen or sheer relief, but Michael wasn’t done.

“We didn’t want to tell anyone because I’m changing positions soon.”

Alex froze and narrowed his eyes at Michael. Michael, infuriatingly, blithely ignored him.

“Oh?” Green asked. “How so.”

“I’m moving to a different department, I’m going to be a sound engineer. We didn’t want to tell people in case they thought it was favoritism; we wanted to wait until I was no longer,” Michael coughed delicately, “under Alex.”

Alex was going to muder him. He could do it too, he had the training.

Green appeared unruffled. “I see. And have the two of you told your parents about your secret love?”

“Not in the picture.” Alex said curtly. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in his family after his father had disowned him at 16. He had busked on the streets for two years until he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force out of desperation and found himself a new family. Which had ended when he’d lost his unit and his leg in the span of 5 minutes. Alex had no one and nothing besides himself; it was not a subject he dwelled on often and he resented it being brought up now.

“Are they dead?” Mr. Green asked dispassionately, a clipboard now in front of him with a checklist he was marking on.

Alex clenched his jaw. “No. But they might as well be. I’m dead to them, anyway. My mother made that clear when she walked out when I was 5, and my father made that _very_ clear when he threw me out for being gay before I could legally vote.”

Michael shot him a glance that might have been sympathy but Alex focused intently at Green, daring a challenge. None came. He simply ticked another box on his list and pointed at Michael with his pen, meeting Alex’s gaze evenly.

“And are his parents dead?”

“Yes, actually.” 

Alex looked up sharply and took in Michael’s small, satisfied smile. He risked a glance at Green to see he too had been taken aback.

Michael wiped the smile off his face like it hadn’t ever been there. “I was adopted when I was about 7. Don’t know what happened to my biological family, but my adoptive parents died 10 years ago.”

Alex digested that information. He hadn’t known. He was beginning to wonder exactly how much there was about his assistant he didn’t know, and he wasn’t pleased with all the blanks that were turning up. It wasn’t that he made it a priority to know details about Michael’s life, they weren’t friends, but he had been in the RCAF for a decade and he liked to think he was more observant than this. 

Michael continued, heedless of the bomb he’d just dropped. “There’s my adoptive brother and sister though, they’re still around.”

Alex jumped in, relieved he finally knew something. “That’s right. His brother’s wife is pregnant with their first child. In fact, we’re going to visit this weekend for the baby shower, aren’t we Michael?”

Michael was glaring daggers at him, but Alex needed him to play along so he kicked him under his chair. With his prosthetic, because he wasn’t feeling all that charitable. Michael winced, and Alex felt a savage surge of satisfaction before he could question if that had been the best idea. 

Michael tried to discreetly rub his ankle and directed a half-grimace, half-forced smile at Green. “Yes, the baby shower is this weekend.”

Alex smiled. “We were going to tell them then. We thought it would be a nice surprise.”

Green made a note on his clipboard. “I see. And where is this supposed baby shower taking place?” He looked expectantly at Alex. 

Shit. 

“Uh, at Michael’s brother’s place.” Alex grasped desperately for any hint of a memory where Michael had mentioned where he was from and came up empty.

Green waited a beat, then raised his eyebrows when it became apparent Alex was done answering. “Which is where, exactly?”

Alex turned helplessly to Michael, who was looking entirely too smug for his liking. “He’s your brother Michael, why don’t you take this one?” Alex said through partially gritted teeth.

Michael paused, then relented. He looked at Green. “Sitka.”

Alex nodded as though he’d known that.

“...Alaska.”

Alex nearly choked.

Green gave them a disbelieving look. “You’re going to Alaska this weekend.”

“Yes.” Alex managed, still mentally reeling. 

“Ok. I see how this is gonna go. Alright, I will see you both at 11:00 on Monday morning. And your answers better match up on all counts.” He made a note on a sticky note and handed it to Michael, clicking his pen closed with bureaucratic finiality. “I’m looking forward to this one. Gonna be fun.”

Alex stood up and opened the door, hearing Michael following behind him.

“I’ll be checking up on you.” Green called after them, and Alex stomach twisted. 

Of course he would.

\---

Alex busied himself with his phone, checking flights and doing travel calculations in his head as they walked out of the immigration office and into the New Mexico sunlight. 

“So, what’s gonna happen is we’re gonna go up there, tell everyone we’re dating, tell your siblings we’re engaged.” Michael was tense beside him but Alex barreled on, ignoring him. “Uh, use the miles for tickets. I can bump you to first class, but use the miles-”

Michael stepped in front of him and Alex had to stop short to avoid walking into him. 

“Were you not in that room?”

Michael’s eyes were alight with a barely controlled anger and Alex swallowed, stomach dropping. “What?” he feigned ignorance, but he’d heard the penalty for Michael getting caught loud and clear. 

Michael gave him a look like he saw through him and took an irritated breath. “I’m looking at a $250,000 fine and five years in jail, that changes things.”

Alex dropped pretense, he knew what Michael was after. “Push you to sound engineer? No way. I need you.”

“Then I quit and you’re screwed. Enjoy Canada!” Michael gave him a bright, fake smile and turned on his heel, starting jauntily down the street away from Alex.

“Michael!” Alex hissed after him, but Michael showed no sign he’d heard him.

Alex groaned. “Fine. Fine!” Michael stopped but didn’t look at him.

“I’ll pass along your demo and put you in for a sound engineer position. If you do the Alaska weekend and the interview I will do that. Happy?” He clenched his fingers around his phone, frustrated to be called on his bluff.

Michael turned. “Not in two years, right away.”

Alex nodded tightly.

Michael started slowly pacing back towards him, confident now in his leverage. “And we’ll tell my family about our engagement when I want and how I want. Because this is a partnership now, you’re not my boss. Not about this. You ask me my opinion, you ask me what I _want_ , before you go off and make an insane decision that affects me.”

Michael stopped when he was less than a foot from Alex, and Alex was forced to tilt his neck back slightly to look him in the eyes. He’d never noticed that Michael was taller than he was, and he swallowed hard at the intensity in Michael’s gaze. He nodded jerkily, accepting Michael’s terms.

“Good. Now ask me nicely.”

Alex furrowed his brow in confusion. “Ask you nicely what you want?”

Michael didn’t flinch. “Ask me nicely to marry you, Alex.”

“But-” Alex was at a loss as to what this was supposed to accomplish.

“You heard me, Manes. On your-” Michael cut himself off and Alex glared, very aware of what he’d been about to say.

“...sitting down.” Michael finished, refusing to look abashed. 

Alex huffed and looked around, spotting a bench nearby. He walked over and sat, making a show of arranging himself primly before looking up to where Michael had followed him over.

“Does this work for you?” He asked, biting back his irritation. 

Michael looked smug. “Perfectly.”

“Good.” Alex swallowed his annoyance and addressed Michael the same way he would a potential client. “Will you marry me?”

“No.” Michael spoke almost before Alex had finished the question. “Say it like you mean it.”

Alex gritted his teeth. “Michael Evans.”

“Yes, Alex?” Michael blinked innocently down at him.

Alex deliberately unclenched his jaw and tried to look as demure as possible. “Would you pretty pretty please, with cherries on top, marry me?” He nearly fluttered his eyelashes for good measure but decided not to push his luck.

Michael tilted his head and tapped a finger to his chin, pretending to consider. “Ok. I don’t appreciate the sarcasm, but I’ll do it.” He nodded once. “See you at the airport tomorrow.” With that Michael wheeled and started briskly away, clearly dismissing Alex.

Alex watched Michael’s retreating form and sighed, putting his head in his hands.

Apparently, he was going to Alaska for the weekend. With Michael. 

Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex reflects on how Jesse threw him out of the house when he was 16 for being gay, there is no mention of further abuse besides that. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “Green appeared unruffled” to “Michael shot him a glance that might have been sympathy”.
> 
> I couldn’t find a way to work in a detailed description of Alex’s job, so this is a [link](https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/record-label1.htm) for a breakdown of the internal workings of a record label company. Basically, Alex is the go-between for the artists and the company. [This](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_engineer) is some more info about what Michael wants to do, if you’re interested.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a kiss (two kisses, technically) that could be considered dubiously consensual in this chapter. For details, see the end of the chapter.

Michael still wasn’t sure how it had happened but here he was, sitting on a plane next to his boss on his way to lie to his family about getting married. To his boss. And if he didn’t do it well enough, he would go to jail. The weight of the binder sitting in his lap felt symbolic somehow, and he opened it to distract himself from his thoughts.

“So these are the questions that Green is going to ask us,” he said, speaking to Alex next to him without looking up, “I pulled them from online so we might actually have a chance at making it through the interview on Monday.” He skimmed for a moment, paging through the packet and becoming more relieved with each line. Having been Alex’s personal assistant for the last two years, this was going to be easy. For him at least.

“The good news is, I know everything about you, the bad news is you have 4 days to learn all this about me.” He slapped the binder closed and turned to Alex, holding it out. “So you better get studying.” He raised his eyebrows when Alex didn’t immediately take it, and waggled it at him. 

Alex sighed and took it, flipping it open and starting to read. His scowl deeped the further he got, and Michael felt a twinge of righteous self-satisfaction that he’d been right about how few Alex would get.

Alex finally looked up, disbelief warring with reluctant admiration on his face. “You know all the answers to these questions about me?”

Michael crossed his arms. “Yes,” he settled in his seat, anticipating a test. He was not disappointed.

“What am I allergic to?” Alex asked immediately.

“Nothing, so far as I’m aware. Unless you count non-work related personal interactions.” Michael smiled brightly in the face of Alex’s glare.

“Do I have any scars, besides the obvious?” 

Michael tilted an acknowledgment towards Alex’s leg. “I’m pretty sure you have a tattoo,” he said, noting the way Alex’s eyebrows popped up at that.

“Oh, pretty sure?” Alex turned to him with an air of disdain, but Michael was almost certain he was right.

He nodded. “Pretty sure.”

Alex prompted him with a gesture, and Michael puffed up internally. He was proud of this one.

“A year and a half ago your dermatologist called and asked about a q-switched laser. I, of course, googled it and found out they remove tattoos. But,” Michael held up a dramatic finger, “you canceled the appointment.”

Alex paused then inclined his head, a small smile on his face. “Smart. You’re right, I do have a tattoo.”

Michael smirked, dropping his hand. “So what is it, and where is it?”

The smile disappeared abruptly and Alex snapped the binder shut. “And, we’re done.”

Michael’s brow furrowed, confused at the sudden change of mood. “Alex, I’m gonna need to know. That’s one of the first things-”

“Michael,” Alex cut him off with a steely gaze and a pointed thrust of the binder. “We’re done.”

When it was clear Alex wasn’t going to relent, Michael took it. Alex crossed his arms, tilted his head back against the seat, and didn’t move for the rest of the flight.

If this was any indication of what he had to work with, he was definitely going to jail.

\---

When the last leg of their flight finally landed and Michael stepped down onto the tarmac from the airplane stairs, he spotted Max and Liz waving from behind the fence and immediately felt ten pounds lighter. He hefted his bags and made his way over, only to be nearly taken off his feet when Max hugged him.

“Alright big guy, take it easy,” Michael grinned, dropping his luggage carelessly to pound him on the back.

“Shut up, I haven’t seen you in forever!” Max pulled back so only his hands were on Michael’s shoulders, smiling just as wide.

“Move pendejo, I haven’t seen him either.” Liz only came up to Max’s shoulder, but when she elbowed him aside she might as well have been towering over him. 

She hugged Michael too, forcing him to bend in half over her pregnant belly, and he kissed her on the cheek. He got a better look at her when she let him go and his eyebrows flew up at the size of her.

“Jesus Liz, you look ready to pop!”

She laughed. “Always the flatterer, aren’t you Mikey.”

Michael heard a suppressed huff of laughter behind him and turned to find Alex standing with his bags and looking utterly delighted at the fact that he’d just heard the word ‘Mikey’.

Michael scowled and Alex, infuriatingly, ignored him.

Max coughed politely and Liz raised an eyebrow when he looked back at them. Right. They’d only ever heard about Alex when Michael was complaining about him and now he was here as Michael’s plus one. Some introductions were in order.

“Ah,” Michael gestured between them. “ Max, Liz, this is Alex. Alex, this is my brother Max and his wife Liz.”

Alex stepped forward and held out his hand, in ‘client mode’ as Michael thought of it. As much as he was apparently allergic to emotions, Alex was very good at his job which relied heavily on interpersonal skills. He just didn’t use them with Michael.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said with a smile, and exchanged handshakes with both of them.

“Well,” Max clapped his hands together and grabbed bags from the ground at random. “Shall we?”

He led the way to his Jeep and loaded the luggage in. Liz climbed laboriously into the passenger seat which left Michael and Alex sitting in the back. Which, unfortunately, gave Alex plenty of space to look around as they drove through town. When he saw Alex clock the third building in a row that had ‘Evans’ on the front Michael braced himself for the inevitable question. There was a reason he didn’t talk too much about his family.

Alex finally turned to him with raised eyebrows. “How come you didn't tell me about _all_ the family businesses?” He gestured out the window to the multitude of storefronts bearing the names “Evans” somewhere in the title.

“Probably being modest,” Max tossed over his shoulder, and Michael gritted his teeth. It wasn’t modesty, he simply disliked being given credit for something he didn’t do. And he _strongly_ disliked being given credit for the success of a family that wasn’t technically his. 

He was given a temporary respite when they pulled up to the dock and Max parked, getting out and heading to the back to unload the bags.

Alex looked confused, and Michael wasn’t far behind him. This wasn’t anywhere near where he had booked their rooms.

“What are we doing, shouldn't we be checking into our hotel now?” Alex asked, twisting in his seat to track Max around the car.

“Oh, we canceled your reservation,” Max grunted as he hefted a bag and started walking it over to the boat ramp. “Family doesn't stay in a hotel.”

Michael pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut around a stab of annoyance. He should have known this would happen. He sighed, resigned to his fate, and got out to help with the bags.

When the last of the luggage was aboard their speedboat and Max was fiddling with the mooring lines, Michael turned to offer Alex a hand and found him eyeing the boat warily.

“Come on, it won’t bite you.” Michael leaned a little further out in encouragement, and Alex gave him a flat look.

“I’m not worried about it biting me, I’m worried about my sea legs,” he said, irritated.

Michael clenched his jaw and pushed down a flash of his own annoyance. He couldn’t blame Alex for being snappish, it wasn’t an ideal situation in a lot of ways. It was part of the reason he had booked a hotel on the mainland but there wasn’t anything to be done about it now. Michael simply leveled his gaze at Alex and held out his hand again. Either Alex trusted him to help him onto the boat or he didn’t; but Michael liked to think that even if Alex didn’t _like_ him, he at least didn’t believe Michael would let him fall.

Eventually Alex sighed and reached forward, grasping Michael’s forearm firmly as Michael’s fingers closed around his. He cautiously clambered onto the boat and immediately sat, squeezed between two bags and wearing a carefully emotionless mask.

Max threw off the last mooring line and got them underway, in no time they were rounding the point and the house came into view.

“Home sweet home,” Max grinned and looked over at Michael. Michael couldn’t help but smile back, it had been a long time since he’d been able to visit Alaska. Any of the times he’d seen his family in the last two years it had been because they had visited him, not the other way around.

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael saw Alex raise his eyebrows at the sight of how big the house was, but he didn’t say anything.

They got the bags off the boat and were gathering them together at the end of their small, private pier when Sanders appeared from out of the house. Michael felt another weight lift and hurried across the boards to greet him. Sanders met him just as he got to shore and Michael dropped his luggage to give him a tight hug.

“Heya kiddo.”

Sanders’ voice was gruffer than usual in his ear, and Michael smiled through the lump in his throat. He gave a squeeze and then stepped back, watching Sanders brush at his cheek.

“Careful old man, or I’ll start thinking you like me.” He resisted the urge to hug him again and settled for putting a hand on his arm.

Sanders’ one eye sparkled at him, the other eye covered with his customary patch. His _nice_ patch, if Michael wasn’t mistaken. 

“Shut up, you probably got grease all over your nice shirt.” Sanders reached out to brush off Michael’s shoulders.

“Nah, I didn’t,” Michael waved him off. “You’re clean.”

Michael paused. He’d said it mostly as a joke but it was true, Sanders was clean. And as the man who ran the local junkyard, that was rare for him. Michael narrowed his eyes and turned suspiciously to Max who had just made it off the pier.

“Max what is this?”

Max had the decency to look slightly abashed. “Just a little welcome home party.”

“50 of our closest friends and neighbors, and all excited to meet you!” Liz stepped onto shore after Max and pointed at Alex, who paled slightly.

“Max-” Michael started, already resigned to it.

“Sorry, can’t hear you!” Max called as he made his way up the lawn with the suitcases he was carrying. Liz gave Michael a sympathetic smile and followed him.

Sanders snorted and clapped Michael on the shoulder. “Welcome home, kid.” He stooped to pick up the luggage that Michael had dropped and trailed after Max and Liz, leaving him alone with Alex.

Alex turned to him as soon as Sanders was out of earshot. “A party?”

Michael wiped a hand over his face. “Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed. “You get the whole deal right off the bat, congrats.” 

Alex looked at the house and then eyed him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were some kind of Alaskan Kennedy?”

Michael stiffened. “We were in the middle of talking about you for the last 2 years,” he said abruptly. “And I’m not an Alaskan Kennedy, I was adopted by the Alaskan Kennedys.”

Alex nodded shortly at his tone. “Fine, whatever.” He gave Michael a hard look. “When are you going to tell them we’re engaged?”

Michael huffed at the reminder. “I’ll pick the right moment.” He headed up to the house, not bothering to see if Alex was behind him. If this was a party he’d bet a lot of money that Isobel had been involved with planning it, and he wanted to get that part over with as soon as possible.

Once they were inside and had both gotten plates of hors d’oeuvres, Michael started scanning the room for Isobel. She would be the last big hurdle to this whole thing, and likely the hardest to jump.

“Hello, brother.”

Michael jumped. True to form, Isobel had snuck up on him. 

“How do you do that every time?” He asked, giving her a hug while being careful of his plate and her drink. She hugged him back, and he thought maybe it wouldn’t be the worst case scenario.

He pulled back, gesturing to Alex. “Alex, this is my sister, Isobel.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Alex held out his hand and smiled at her, same as he had done with Max and Liz at the airport.

Isobel smiled back, her eyes hard and teeth sharp, and Michael’s heart sank. He’d thought wrong.

“So you’re Michael’s boss.” She took Alex’s hand briefly, then dropped it in favor of her wine glass. 

“Isobel.” Michael warned.

“Tell me, Alex, do you make a habit of sleeping with your employees or…”

Michael put his face in his palm and peeked through his fingers at Alex, finding his jaw clenched and his face otherwise expressionless. Great.

Alex finally grimaced a smile at Isobel and shook his head. “No. No, Michael is the exception.”

Isobel smirked. “I’ll bet he is.” She tipped her head back and downed the last swallow of her drink. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a refill.” She waggled her empty glass at them and turned, her ponytail swinging. Even her hair mocked him, Michael thought sourly. He gritted his teeth.

“Excuse me,” he said tightly to Alex, and stormed after his sister.

He caught up to her at the drink table as she was turning back to the party, her drink replenished. 

“Helluva first impression there, Isobel.” He was angry, but he understood her reservations better than he’d like to and he knew he needed to be careful.

Isobel apparently had no such qualms. “What the hell, Michael? You show up here after all this time with this guy you’ve hated, who is your _boss_ , and now he’s your boyfriend?!”

Michael sighed. “We just got here, can we wait two seconds until we fight about this?”

“Just never figured you for a guy who slept his way to the middle.” Isobel casually sipped her wine, covering her momentary outburst with an innocent look.

Michael bristled on Alex’s behalf. Alex wasn’t what he would call friendly, but Michael knew first hand how hard Alex worked, and how good he was at what he did. “I’ll have you know that that man in there is one of the most respected A&R guys in town.”

“Yes, and Noah was one of the most respected lawyers at his firm!” She snapped and immediately drew back, visibly restraining herself.

Michael gritted his teeth. “Alex is not Noah.”

Isobel shrugged. “He’s your meal ticket, and you brought him home to meet your family.”

Michael’s hold on his temper snapped. “He’s not my meal ticket, he’s my fiancé.”

“What.” Isobel stared at him, frozen. He’d managed to take her completely by surprise, and that was rare. Michael felt a grim twist of satisfaction he wasn’t proud of, and shoved it down hard.

“You heard me.” Michael smiled blithely. “I’m getting married.”

He turned to the room at large and raised his voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a very important announcement to make.” He paused and waited for the majority of people to turn his way, then he very deliberately beamed. “Alex and I are getting married!”

Cheers and whoops immediately filled the air, and several people patted him heartily on the back as he pushed through the throng looking for Alex. He finally spotted him gracefully fending off well-wishers having been backed into a corner by the food table.

“There he is, my fiancé,” Michael extracted him and turned, preparing himself to deal with Max when a different familiar face appeared in front of him.

“Maria!” He immediately dropped Alex’s arm and pulled her into a hug. 

When he finally let her go she was smiling ear to ear.

“Congratulations, Michael,” she said, eyes shining.

Michael took her in for a moment, mind spinning with all the things he wanted to say. “Wow. Wow, hi! It’s so good to see you, how are you doing? I didn't know you were gonna be here.” 

Maria shrugged. “Max probably wanted it to be a surprise, so surprise!” She grinned at him and did jazz hands.

“When did you go natural?” Michael gestured to her hair, curling loose in thick waves that framed her face.

She put a hand up and smiled a little self-consciously. “Oh, a couple months ago. You would not _believe_ how hard it is to find coconut oil up here.”

She turned to Alex, who had been watching the exchange silently with his polite face on. “And we’re being rude. Hi.” She held out a hand and Alex took it, smiling.

“Oh, this is my ex-” Michael started and then wanted to kick himself as he saw Alex stiffen.

Maria rolled her eyes at him. “I’m Maria,” she said to Alex, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Max chose that moment to appear, a bottle of champagne in his hands and Liz at his side.

“Michael, why didn’t you say anything! Congratulations you guys!” Max popped the cork and poured into two glasses Liz was holding. When he was done, she handed them to Michael and Alex.

“A toast!” Max raised his voice to be heard above the noise, “To the happy couple!”

Michael clinked his glass with Alex’s, acknowledging his raised eyebrow with a tilt of his head, and sipped. It had gone better than he had thought it might, though now he was looking forward to finding an excuse to leave and collapse into bed.

“Give us a kiss!” 

Someone shouted from the crowd and Michael’s head snapped up, trying to see who it was so he could wave them off. 

Too late. 

The call went up around the room, and Michael winced internally. He risked a glance at Alex who was already looking at him, resigned. Michael quirked an eyebrow at him and he nodded once, giving him permission.

Michael stepped into his space before he could get worked up and pressed his lips to Alex’s chastely, pulling away as quickly as he thought he could get away with.

“Come on, a real one!”

Apparently it had been too quickly.

Michael looked around the room with distaste and annoyance, trying to glare at least one of his friends into submission. No dice. Alex offered a helpless shrug when Michael’s gaze fell back on him and Michael let his shoulders slump in defeat. He cupped Alex's cheek in his hand and leaned in until their lips met again, merely intending a longer version of the first kiss. Then Alex opened his mouth. 

Electricity shot through him and he had to swallow what definitely would have been an embarrassing noise. 

_Oh._

Some distant corner of his brain figured if Alex had done it first it was fair game, so without a second thought he slid his hand from Alex’s cheek to his neck, tilted Alex’s head back slightly, and deepened the kiss. 

Michael ultimately stopped short of adding tongue to the mix but it was a near thing. And it was certainly a much more involved kiss than he would have _ever_ expected to share with Alex, of all people. If he was honest, there was a part of him that was shocked Alex even had the capability to kiss like that. 

Alex kept his personal life almost completely out of the office, and Michael was beginning to recognize he had somehow assumed it meant Alex didn’t have one at all. Which was quickly being proven incorrect.

When they broke apart, Michael found Alex’s expression to be about as startled and unsettled as he felt. Michael watched Alex’s eyes flicked down to his lips and back up again; a quick, jumpy movement he probably hadn’t meant to make. His pupils were slightly blown, and when Michael realized there was a tendril of heat forming in his own gut he stepped back and looked away, unprepared to deal with what might happen if he allowed himself to examine that too closely. He nodded and smiled stiffly as everyone clapped, and finished his drink in one go.

He might be in more trouble than he’d thought.

\---

Max showed them to their room later that night, and Michael nearly groaned when he walked in and saw the guest bed. Of _course_ there was only one bed. They were a couple. He sighed internally and resigned himself to sleeping on the floor. There was no way he’d make Alex do that with his leg, and he had no desire for any more physical contact with Alex than was necessary. Not after that kiss. He didn’t need any more revelations to complicate matters.

“-and there’s extra towels and linens in here if you need them,” Max finished, pointing to a wooden cabinet in the corner between the bathroom and the sliding doors leading out to a small porch overlooking the bay.

“Thank you,” Alex said. He wasn’t saying anything, but Michael had noticed him starting to limp towards the end of the party and figured his leg must be bothering him after a long day of travel.

“Yeah, thanks Max,” he slapped him on the shoulder. “But if you don’t mind we’d like to hit the sack.”

Max smiled and winked conspiratorially at him. “Of course. See you in the morning!” He headed out the door and Michael repressed a shudder.

He turned to Alex who was eyeing the lone bed distastefully. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Alex looked surprised. “Are you sure? I was-”

“Not a chance, Manes,” Michael interrupted him with a winning smile. “I would never pass up the opportunity to hold the moral high ground over you.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. Do you want the bathroom first?”

Michael’s eyebrows went up. He hadn’t expected Alex to ask. “Uh, you take it, I can start making my bed.” 

Alex nodded, grabbed a change of clothes and his shower kit from his luggage, and pulled the bathroom door shut behind him.

Michael dug through his own suitcase and pulled out the thin flannel pajama bottoms he wore to sleep in. He had just gotten his nest of blankets and pillows situated on the floor when the door to the bathroom opened and Alex came out. He was wearing a soft-looking t-shirt and boxer shorts; his prosthetic leg was visible where his right leg ended just below the knee and Michael reminded himself not to stare, even though he was immensely curious as to how the thing worked. Michael loved to take things apart just to see if he could put them back together again. It was part of why he wanted to be a sound engineer; he wanted to be the person in the booth with all the bare elements of a song, meshing all the pieces together and tweaking the track until it was just right.

Alex stopped short when he saw Michael was bare chested and Michael found _he_ wasn’t the one who needed to be told not to gawk.

“What?” Michael snapped, looking down briefly to make sure there wasn’t actually something worth staring at.

Alex’s eyes jerked to his and Michael saw his throat bob before he spoke. “I...is that seriously what you’re wearing to sleep in?” He sounded incredulous, and Michael tried to quell his annoyance. 

“I run hot,” he said, defensively. “And besides, we were supposed to be in a hotel. Not my fault my interfering brother canceled our reservations and insisted we stay here.”

Alex tilted his head and nodded, silently allowing a truce. He made his way over to the bed and busied himself with taking his leg off.

Michael got up to take his turn in the bathroom, then finished engineering his pile into a makeshift pallet and laid down. He threw the thinnest blanket over himself and wiggled a little to get comfortable.

“Ah,” Alex started, sounding dry. “Not to disparage the very impressive view, but I’m probably not going to sleep too well with Alaska’s famous ‘midnight sun’ streaming through the wall of glass all night.”

Michael sat up, grabbed a remote he happened to know about that Max had forgotten to mention, and pressed a button. Curtains started to slide across the doors to the porch and blinds automatically lowered over the windows at the head of the bed.

The whirr of the small motor turned off with a click and they were cloaked in relative darkness.

“...Convenient,” Alex muttered like he wanted to make another comment about ‘Alaskan Kennedys’.

Michael grunted and flopped down again, tossing the remote onto the ottoman at the foot of the bed next to him. There was a beat of silence then Alex spoke, sounding reluctant.

“Michael.”

“...Yeah?” There was a sudden tension in the air that immediately put Michael on alert. 

“I, uh. It’s been about a year since I’ve had a bad one, but sometimes I get nightmares from ah-”

Michael heard the sheets rustle and assumed Alex was somehow gesturing to his leg. His stomach churned even as he felt annoyance rising again, this time at himself; he should have expected this. But Alex, apparently already nervous, didn’t take his lack of response positively.

“I can sleep on the couch if that’s going to be an issue,” he said, voice hard.

“No.” Michael said, sharper than he meant to, and he could almost feel the way Alex stiffened. “Shit, I mean-it’s fine. You’re fine. I’m not gonna make you move.” The silence stretched, awkward and heavy, and Michael was painfully aware of how vulnerable Alex had just made himself. For him. 

He sighed, the tension buzzing under his skin, and wished _he_ could go sleep on the couch. The sheets rustled again and Michael heard Alex take a breath as if to speak. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Michael said, forestalling any other line of conversation.

Alex shifted, clearly not appeased. Michael exhaled slowly and let his eyes fall closed. This would be easier if he couldn’t see anything. “Sometimes I get nightmares too.”

There was a pause, then “Oh.”

“Goodnight Alex.” Michael willed Alex to take the hint and not ask him why, it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. Not now.

“Goodnight.”

Michael rolled away from the bed onto his side and tucked his hand under the pillow, trying to relax. 

Maybe things would be better in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael announces his engagement to Alex at a welcome home party and someone in the crowd tells them to kiss. Feeling pressure from the room, they do, first a quick peck and then a little more involved when someone asks for a “real one”. Both of them are a little uncomfortable with it but are also both willing participants. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “Michael clinked his glass with Alex’s” to “He might be in more trouble than he’d thought”.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a brief, surprise encounter of mutual nudity that could be considered dubiously consensual, and this is the part where the “past arson” and “mentioned parent with degenerative mental condition” tags come into play. If you need more explicit details for any of these, see the notes at the end of the chapter.

Alex woke abruptly to the sound of his phone buzzing loudly on the bedside table and he dove for it, knocking a pillow to the floor in the process. He got it on the 5th ring after fumbling in the dimness and answered with a short “Manes.”

“Manes, are you sick? You’ve never taken that long to pick up before.”

“Rosa?” Alex pulled the phone away from his ear and squinted at the bright display. She had already started talking and he hurriedly pressed the phone back to his cheek.

“-was a joke Manes, jeeze. Are you actually sick?”

“No, no, you’re fine.” Alex sat up, trying to get his bearings.

Michael groaned something unintelligible at him, clearly mostly asleep and resentful of the fact that he wasn’t completely asleep thanks to Alex.

“Hold on a second,” he muttered into the phone, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He grabbed his crutch and made his way to the bathroom, awkwardly shutting the door and then leaning on the ridiculously high side of the claw-footed tub. “Ok, what’s up?”

“I can’t do the lunch.”

Alex’s heart seized. “What? Why?”

“My sister’s baby is due soon and I already have to miss her shower. I don’t want to miss any more than I have to, family is too important to me.”

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. Hard to argue with that. “Ok, how about a conference call?”

Rosa hesitated, and Alex saw his chance.

“For Jenna. She was so excited when I told her you agreed to have lunch with her, she’ll be crushed if I have to tell her you can’t make it.” He held his breath.

Rosa huffed. “You’re really milking that cow for all it’s worth aren’t you.”

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and considered crossing his fingers.

“Alright Manes. For my fan. I would hate to disappoint my apparently adoring public.”

Alex tried not to let his sigh of relief be audible.“Fantastic. I’ll call you after I talk to Jenna about the details.”

Rosa sounded amused. “I’m sure you will.” She hung up, and Alex let his phone clatter onto the sink counter.

He braced against the side of the tub and tilted his head back, closing his eyes taking a deep breath through his nose. He didn’t have time for this. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He also didn’t have time for a pity party. 

Alex shook his head at himself. He maneuvered over to the sink and ran the water, cupping a palm under the stream and washing his face. He reached for his phone, but it slipped from his wet fingers and clattered off the counter. Into the open toilet bowl.

“No, DAMMIT!” Alex yelled and went after it as quickly as his crutch would allow. But by the time he’d managed to kneel and fish it out, the screen stayed woefully dark no matter how many times he pressed the power button.

“ _Fuck._ ” This was the last thing he needed.

“Alex?” Michael’s voice came from the bedroom.

_Double fuck._

“Alex, are you ok?” Michael knocked on the door, genuinely sounding concerned which only increased Alex’s irritation.

“I’m fine,” he snapped. “You can come in.”

He struggled to his foot and got his crutch under him as Michael opened the door and stared. 

“What happened?” He still looked worried, and Alex glared at him.

“Dropped my phone in the toilet and now it’s dead.” Alex said shortly. He clenched his jaw. “Just about par for the course at this point. I have _so_ many calls to make and now-”

“Woah, woah.” Michael put his hands out in a placating gesture and Alex cut himself off. 

“Relax alright, we’ll order another phone, same number, we’ll go into town tomorrow and get it.”

“Ok. Ok, you're right.” Alex shook his head again, sharply, and his stomach unclenched somewhat.

Michael turned back to the bedroom and pushed the door open wide. “Now come on, you have to get ready,” he said over his shoulder.

Alex absorbed that for a moment before he followed Michael out of the bathroom, confused. “For what?”

Michael was bent over his suitcase digging out clothes, and Alex had to deliberately look away from the way the muscles in his back rippled under his skin as he moved. He didn't need another reminder of how apparently well-built his assistant was under his suit.

“Oh, you're going out with Max and Liz.” Michael sat on his heels and mercifully pulled a shirt over his head, turning to look at Alex when he heard no response. Alex raised his eyebrows at him. 

Michael smirked. “Max came and woke me up while you were in there, they have a surprise planned for you after they take you for some sightseeing.”

Alex cocked his head. “That sounds ominous.”

“Probably,” Michael shrugged. “Anyway, you have fun with that.” He turned back to the suitcase and Alex’s stomach dropped.

“Wait, you’re not coming with us?”

Michael shot him a dry look. “Um, no.” He stood, a pair of jeans in one hand and his shower kit in the other. “If you’ll excuse me?” He raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at the bathroom Alex was blocking.

Alex shuffled to the side and Michael shut the door behind him as he went in. He stared at the paneling for a moment, trying to put his thoughts in order, then sighed. It was going to be one of those days. 

\---

After the, admittedly nice, day of sightseeing around the quaintly picturesque town as promised, Max and Liz finally steered him into what looked like a bar. The building was perched half on land and half on a pier that acted as an extended outdoor seating area, though Alex couldn’t imagine how often it was used as such. He caught the name “Mimi’s” over the entrance before he was swept inside and greeted with a shocking number of people in such a small space. He was blinking in the change of light when Liz apparently spotted a familiar face. 

“Maria!” Liz shouted happily over the din of the packed room. “Not behind the bar tonight?”

Maria made her way over and hugged Liz one-armed over the swell of her belly, smiling. “It’s my night off. Blaire is working the bar and Forrest is hosting the open mic.”

She waved to a man with blue hair setting up the mic stand and he flashed a smile in return.

“But I assume that’s why you’re here.” She grinned, her eyes gleaming wickedly, and Alex’s unease from that morning returned in full force. “Come on, I’ll get you a table.”

Maria led them through the crowd, weaving between people with the ease of a professional, and sat them at a small, circular table by the stage. A blonde woman with a severe ponytail and equally severe cheekbones whisked by with a tray of drinks and set it on the table, whirling away just as quickly.

“Thanks Blaire!” Maria called after her, and started passing them out. Alex looked at the local beer she had put in front of him.

“Are we starting a tab?” He asked, trying to remember how much cash he had in his wallet.

“Oh no, honey,” Maria patted his shoulder. “Family drinks free here.”

“Maria owns the place,” Max said with an easy grin, and Maria toasted him.

“Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing.” 

Alex swallowed his guilt at hearing “family” yet again and turned to the stage where Forrest was standing in front of the mic looking to the back of the room. He gave a thumbs up to someone and turned a showman’s smile onto the crowd, several of his rings flashing in the light as he brought a hand up to the mic.

“Hello Sitka! Can everyone hear me?”

The bar burst into whoops and a smattering of applause.

Max settled back in his chair and took a swig of his drink. “I hope you are ready for your big surprise, because this is one of Sitka's greatest treasures.”

“Welcome to our open mic tonight, as always a thank you to Mimi’s for hosting us.” Forrest nodded to Maria and a small cheer went up as she raised her drink in acknowledgement. Forrest smiled and spread his arms. “But I know all you lovely people didn’t come here to listen to me talk.” There were a few laughs and one whoop. “So let’s get down to business,” Forrest brought both hands to the mic and glanced off stage. “Please welcome our first participant of the night, a man who needs no introduction, Sitka’s very own: Bert!”

Forrest swept his hand to the side and moved, allowing space for an unassuming man in a plaid shirt and a cowboy hat to step on stage to a round of applause.

“Hello everyone, I’m Bert.” The man gave a small wave and clasped his hands in front of him. “I call this one Visceral Werewolf: Part 2. Dedicated to my boy Chichi, may he rest in peace.” He crossed himself and looked down at the stage for a moment. Then, without warning, he threw back his head and _howled_.

Alex thought his eyebrows might have hit the ceiling.

Liz leaned over conspiratorially. “Bert is the only slam poet we have on the island, but we’re lucky to have him,” her eyes glinted with mirth and she suppressed a smile at Alex’s reaction.

He struggled to find a politic way to respond and finally settled on a non-committal “mm” and a nod as he gulped some of his beer.

“Bert” was certainly...extraordinary. He was on stage for 10 minutes and Alex had no words to describe the experience. Only that he was ready for a break.

“Would you excuse me, I think I need to uh. Absorb that.” Alex got up to good-natured laughter and made his way out to the pier portion of the bar, taking his beer with him.

He leaned his elbows against the railing and looked out over the bay, cocking his hip to put his weight on his left leg and ease the pressure on his prosthetic. He turned when he heard the door open behind him, a blast of clearly amature acoustic guitar thrumming through the air, and saw Maria come out. She smiled when she noticed him and started over.

“Hey, there you are! How you holding up?”

“Oh fine, fine.” Alex said vaguely. The last thing he needed was to insult the owner of the establishment and, on top of everything else, Michael’s ex.

Maria looked at him knowingly and leaned against the railing next to him. “Little different than the city, huh.”

Alex laughed, feeling his shoulders relax as the tension eased out. “Little bit. You ever been?”

She took a sip of her beer, shaking her head. “That was more Michael’s dream than mine.”

So much for lack of tension. 

“You guys were pretty serious, huh.” Alex asked, cautious.

Maria waved a dismissive hand. “Well, we dated in high school and all through college but. We were kids.” 

Alex eased a little, but he didn’t feel like he was out of the woods. Not yet. “And you guys called it off because…”

Maria sighed and turned so she could prop her elbows back against the rail, facing the bar. “One night he proposed. Said he wanted to run off and find somewhere to settle that wasn’t Sitka.”

Alex narrowed his eyes, assessing. “And you said no.”

Maria chuckled easily. “And I said no.” 

Alex looked down and picked at the label on his beer, giving her space to continue if she wanted.

He could see her looking at him appraisingly out of the corner of his eye, and she finally said “You noticed that Stika is pretty...white?”

That surprised a snort out of him and he ducked his head, meeting her gaze after a moment with a wry smile.

She nodded and took another sip of her own beer. “When I was little, I literally thought my mom and I were the only Black people in the world. The folks are nice enough around here but…” Maria shook her head. “It can feel pretty isolating sometimes, ya know?”

Alex made a sound of agreement, looking back out over the water. “My mother was Native, I’m half. She left when I was really young though, and we lived in a mostly white neighborhood so all I got was the name-calling at lunch and recess with nothing to show for it. Then I made the mistake of being gay in high school and the names changed. Tone was the same though, and I didn’t have my brothers to back me up any more.” 

He turned to squint at her and found Maria regarding him with understanding eyes. She solemnly tilted her beer towards him, offering. He smiled and obligingly clinked the neck of her bottle with his, following the gesture with a fortifying swallow.

“Yeah.” Maria let her gaze drift over the roof of the bar, her eyes unfocused. “My mom, she was all I had for a long time and she-” Maria paused and looked abruptly at her feet. “About 5, 6 years ago she was diagnosed with early onset Alzeimers. I already had the bar at that point too and leaving just. Wasn’t an option for me.” She looked back at Alex and gave him a wan smile. 

“Michael...well. Isobel needed him for a while after their parents died. So he got it, he understood. But he never felt like he belonged here, in a different way than me. He felt like he needed to make his own way, outside of what he’d been adopted into. Outside of Sitka. So,” she shrugged, “we went our separate ways.”

Alex digested that for a moment and decided to risk a personal question. “How’s your mother doing now?”

Maria cocked her head, considering. “Last time I visited her in the care home she was ranting about the sex scandal in the White House.”

Alex scoffed. “Which one?”

Maria tilted an acknowledgment at him and smirked darkly. “Lewinsky. She thought it was 1998, and she didn’t recognize me because I, of course, was 7 at the time.”

Alex shook his head, at a loss for words. He regretted bringing it up, but it was too late now.

“But anyway.” Maria drew her shoulders up. “You’re a lucky guy. He really is the best, which you obviously already know.”

Alex nodded slowly, gut twisting with guilt. He did know, but not in the way Maria meant. And he was taking advantage of that.

Maria pushed off from the rail and patted his arm.

“Well, see you on the flip side.” She smiled and gave him a two fingered salute. He smiled weakly in return and watched her walk back into the bar. He sighed heavily and turned back to the water, watching the way it lapped around the pilings under the pier.

This was bad.

\---

Liz and Max were still talking about Bert’s performance as they walked up the dock back to the house.

“I mean, I just don’t know how he doesn’t lose his voice doing that I-” Max cut off and looked dismayed. “Oh no.”

“What's wrong?” Alex followed his gaze to where someone was bent over the engine of a rundown old pickup truck half covered with a tarp, clearly tinkering. He was taken aback when the figure straightened and he realized it was Michael.

Max set his jaw and marched towards the house, pulling away from Alex and Liz.

Alex looked at Liz, concern drawing his brows together.

She sighed and jerked her chin at him, resigned. “Something’s up, best to leave him alone.” She continued after Max up the steps to the deck, and Alex paused to look over at where Michael was shoulders deep under the hood again. He hadn’t known Michael was mechanically inclined, one more detail he had missed. After a moment he shook his head and followed Liz, stepping through the door where she had held it for him.

Alex walked through the kitchen towards the guest room, and heard Max and Isobel’s tense voices in the next room.

“Why is Michael out there working on that old truck again?”

“I don't know, maybe he's planning his escape.” Isobel sounded unrepentant, and Alex had a feeling this was an old argument.

He turned slightly to find Liz leaning against the counter, her hand at her lower back and her brow slightly crinkled with worry. She was also listening in, and he suddenly felt like he was intruding on something he shouldn’t be.

He cleared his throat delicately, and Liz looked at him. 

“My leg is a little sore, I need a good soak after the day we had,” he said carefully, not sure if Liz wanted his company or if he could leave her alone with Max and Isobel bickering in the next room.

She waved a hand at him. “Oh, sure. Of course. I’ll probably be having a nice bath too after Max is done with-” she gestured vaguely at the wall where Alex could still hear voices and sat gingerly on one of the stools at the island. She suppressed a groan as her weight left her feet, and Alex’s leg ached in sympathy. He turned to go and then paused.

“I had a great day today, thank you.” He meant it too, which only made him feel worse.

Liz looked at him and smiled, her face lighting up even through her tiredness. “We were glad to have you,” she said, and Alex found himself giving her a small smile in return.

Against his better judgment, he was starting to like these people.

\---

Alex still thought the walls of the claw footed bathtub in the guest room were ridiculously high, but he had to admit that soaking in the deep tub was one of the nicest baths he’d had in a while. He finally convinced himself to pull the stopper and didn’t wait for the water to drain, heaving himself up to sit on the edge while his weight was still mostly supported. 

He started to swing his legs over like he had done to get into the tub, but he misjudged the distance and his left foot hit his crutch where he had leaned it for easy access. It clattered to the floor and, of course, bounced directly under the tub. 

Alex sighed. He looked around for a towel to dry himself off with before he went spelunking and only then realized he had forgotten to bring one in. He scrubbed his face with the hand that wasn’t bracing against the tub and resisted the urge to swear loudly. He eyed the distance to the door and decided he could make it.

He wiped his left foot on the bath mat and then planted it firmly, pushing away from the tub and balancing for a moment. Then he hopped, grabbing the door handle when he landed to keep his footing. Pleased that he hadn’t landed on his ass yet, he cracked the door and looked out, judging how far it was to the linen cabinet Max had pointed out the night before. It looked manageable, so he maneuvered the door open and braced against the doorframe momentarily.

He checked over his shoulder to see if he could get a better angle on where the crutch was and was pleased to find it would be relatively simple to pull out. He looked down at his foot, pushed out a steadying breath, jumped with all his might-

-and slammed into what felt like a wall of muscle.

Alex flailed wildly and grabbed at whatever it was to keep from bouncing to the floor, then he looked up. Into Michael’s shocked face. He had a split second to register the fact that he’d latched onto _Michael_ to stay vertical before they were both sliding to the ground, Michael’s legs failing to support him under the sudden impact and weight of another person. Alex found himself lying more or less on top of Michael in a heap on the floor where he had a second realization: Michael was as naked as he was. And they were touching in a _lot_ of places.

“OH my-”

“What the-”

Alex rolled off Michael and scrambled for the bed, reaching for a blanket as soon as he was close enough. 

“Why are you naked?!” Alex yelled, yanking the top quilt off and pulling it over his hips as he faced Michael.

“Why are you WET?!” Michael shouted back, snagging a towel from the cabinet that had been Alex’s goal in the first place and wrapping it around himself. But not before Alex had gotten a full view of his ass, and when Michael turned around Alex had to force his eyes up to Michael’s flushed face. 

He took a breath and gathered both the quilt and his dignity. “Explain yourself, please.”

“ _Explain_ myself.” Michael snarled, clutching the towel tightly and fumbling with a pair of earbuds Alex hadn’t noticed wrapped around his neck.

Alex swallowed and tried to ignore the hair on Michael’s chest, the trail of it leading suggestively down from his navel. Tried to forget what it had felt like against his skin seconds ago. “Yes, explain yourself,” he snapped, failing on both counts.

Michael glared at him. “I was outside!”

Alex raised his eyebrows.

Michael gestured to the sliders to the porch, which Alex now saw were open. “I was fixing the truck, I came in for a shower, and I was getting ready outside.”

“You didn’t hear me in the bathroom?” 

Michael glanced to the open door and nodded shortly to himself when he saw the wet tile. “I was listening to-” He stopped, simply holding up the headphones that he had finally gotten untangled, and Alex ducked his head in silent acknowledgement. 

Michael looked at Alex in the pause and waited expectantly. But Alex was too busy trying to decide if asking his personal assistant ‘do you make a habit of standing outdoors in the nude?’ counted as sexual harassment when they were already fake engaged to answer, and Michael scoffed. “So what, you just jump me? Out of nowhere?”

Alex drew up, affronted. “I did NOT jump you. I forgot a towel and then my crutch fell under the tub and I didn’t want to go crawling after it on a cold, wet floor so I-” Alex paused and huffed. “I figured I could hop over to the linen closet but on the last one…”

Michael’s eyes narrowed and he smirked. “On the last jump, you hit me.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

“So, you jumped me.” 

“Fine. I jumped you. But only in a literal sense!” Alex defended against Michael’s grin that infuriatingly remained undimmed.

Michael turned to head into the bathroom. “Nice tattoo by the way,” he tossed over his shoulder and Alex flinched, hand going to the back of his neck just below where a shirt collar would sit. He hadn’t figured Michael had seen it.

“What is it with you and this bathroom?” Michael’s voice echoed slightly, and Alex didn’t realize why until Michael emerged with Alex’s crutch in hand. 

Alex stared at it as Michael walked over, somehow not quite understanding what was happening until Michael held it out to him. He looked up at Michael who raised his eyebrows and waggled the crutch impatiently. Alex took it, slowly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said quietly, still not sure what was happening.

Micheal looked at him oddly but snorted. “I did if I wanted to take a shower,” he said, sauntering back to the bathroom. He paused in the doorway. “Sorry to disappoint, but the peepshow is over.”

With that the door clicked shut and Alex was left sitting on the floor, suddenly very aware he hadn’t said ‘thank you’. 

\---

That evening after they were both safely ready for bed, Alex found himself stuck on the partial conversation he’d overheard between Max and Isobel earlier. In the relative safety of darkness and with Michael settled at the foot of the bed again, he decided to ask.

“What’s the deal with Isobel?”

There was a tense moment of silence, then Michael spoke up tightly. “That question is not in the binder.”

Taken aback by the extreme shift, Alex pushed back harder than he meant to. “You were the one who said we had to learn all this,” he snidely pointed out, and immediately regretted it.

“Not about that Alex, good night.” Michael’s dismissal was clear, and Alex closed his eyes knowing he’d deserved that.

He let his breath out slowly so as not to make a noise. He was asking about a sensitive topic, he needed to give Michael a reason to talk to him. He opened his eyes again and set his jaw briefly.

“I had a lizard in middle school.”

“...What?”

Alex could hear Michael’s confusion at the non-sequitur, but if he stopped now he wouldn’t ever get it out so he plowed on.

“For a pet. I named her Willow because ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ was my favorite show. It still is, actually. I was an emo kid too, in high school. Before my Dad kicked me out. Had a septum ring, wore eyeliner, the whole deal. _Panic! At the Disco_ is still one of my favorite groups to listen to.” He paused, but Michael was silent so he continued. 

“I play guitar. That’s how I made a living before I joined the RCAF, I had to play for my dinner. It’s why I got into this business after I was discharged; all I ever really wanted to do was make music.” He shook his head, gathering himself. “I haven’t slept with anyone since I lost my leg 3 years ago. And my tattoo is the patch for the unit I was in when I got blown up. I was the only one who made it out and at the time I...I guess I wanted to honor them. Not that it did anyone any good.”

He heard some rustling over the pounding in his ears and made himself stop and breathe, knowing he was in danger of rambling. He strained, listening for further movement from the foot of the bed like it might tell him what Michael was thinking.

“I have nightmares because I was there when my parents died.”

Alex sucked in a breath and held it, frozen. He stared hard at the ceiling as if looking at anything else might break the fragile moment. He heard Michael exhale in the dimness, accompanied by more rustling. Alex thought he might have sat up, but he didn’t dare try to verify that by moving.

“It was ten years ago and Isobel’s husband...well. Noah seemed like a great guy. They’d been married maybe a year when the fires started around town. Little ones at first, in trash cans and stuff, then bigger ones in abandoned buildings. Eventually, people started to get hurt. Then they started to die.” Michael paused and Alex swallowed, sick at the thought of where this might be going. 

“They say-” Michael’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. Alex wanted to tell him he didn’t need to go on but Michael continued, steady this time. 

“They say that’s a common pattern. For serial arsonists. It’s about the attention, or something. It’s like a drug for them, they need more over time.” Alex heard him laugh bitterly. “Noah finally decided the best way for him to get attention would be if his wife and in-laws were the next to tragically die so he arranged a weekend for them to stay over, knocked them out, left them in the guest room, and then just. Set the house on fire.”

Alex didn’t make a sound for fear of disrupting Michael but he desperately wished he could see him to know what his face was doing.

“Isobel...woke up somehow. I don’t know the details, she’s never talked about it with me. She caught up with Noah before he could get out and he...they fought. I think he hit his head on a counter or something I’m not sure. In any case, he never made it out. But Isobel-she was hurt. She couldn’t help our parents. Max lived down the street from her at the time and he called me in a panic when he noticed the smoke. We got there before the fire department did and we um. We got Isobel out. We tried to go back in for our parents but…”

Alex heard the click of Michael’s throat as he swallowed and he waited, his heart pounding.

“They were dead already anyway, turned out later. Everybody forgets about smoke inhalation.” Michael huffed a sigh. “I did something that messed my left hand up pretty good while we were in there too. I don’t remember what, it’s all a blur. Or, most of it is and some of it…” Michael trailed off and Alex’s stomach swooped in sympathy. He knew how that went. 

“It’s healed about as well as it ever will by now, barely left a mark, but it still gives me trouble sometimes. Max seems to be mostly ok but Isobel...Noah didn’t leave her with a great impression of relationships. Max and Liz get a pass because the two of them are honestly sickening around each other but she ah. Well. She had some things to say to me about getting married and that’s why I ended up working on the truck this afternoon. It makes me feel quiet, and I needed it.” 

Alex waited, but the silence stretched on and he thought Michael might have finished. “Quiet?” he prompted, his voice as soft as he could make it.

“The internal chaos it-when I work with my hands my entropy changes. Everything goes quiet. It helps, when I need to get away from myself.” 

Alex nodded in the dark, that made sense to him. There was a long pause again before Michael apparently decided to continue.

“My dreams aren’t…all bad.” Alex heard him hesitate. “Sometimes I-I see a woman. A blonde woman. There’s...sunlight and she’s um. Smiling at me. I think she’s-” his voice choked off and Alex could tell he was fighting down a strong emotion. His heart ached and he spoke almost without thinking, needing to do something to ease the rawness he could feel radiating off Michael.

“Your mother.”

Michael exhaled wetly. “Yeah.”

Alex let Michael regroup, happy to stare at the ceiling and try to process the new information. Eventually Michael sniffed loudly and cleared his throat.

“Hey, um-”

Alex made an encouraging noise.

“...You really haven’t slept with anyone in 3 years?”

Alex could hear the disbelief in Michael’s voice and he flushed, suddenly extremely grateful they couldn’t see each other. 

“Out of all that, that’s all you got?” Alex said wryly, amused even through his embarrassment. 

“That’s a long time,” was all Michael had to say in response and Alex sighed, resigned. 

“At first it was the pain, then it was the meds. And once I started at Colden I just. Got a little busy. Plus you know, it puts more people off than you’d think.” Alex tried not to take it personally, but after the third person had recoiled in near horror at the mention of his missing leg and one guy had almost literally run out of the room he had stopped trying altogether. He was over it at this point, mostly.

“Alex?”

Michael’s voice from the dark startled Alex out of his thoughts. “Yes?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way…”

Michael sounded cautious and Alex didn’t want to be the one to shatter the tentative peace. “‘K” he said patiently, and waited.

“You’re a very, very attractive guy.”

Well. Alex was apparently less over it than he thought. A nearly foreign warmth bloomed in his chest and he smiled so wide he thought his cheeks might crack. “Thank you, Michael.” He hesitated, then decided to ride the wave of emotional vulnerability. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Michael snorted and Alex heard him lay back down. Something loosened inside him and he felt himself relax in a way he hadn’t in a long, long time.

\---

When Alex woke the next morning he had to blink blearily at the clock on the bedside table a few times before the numbers made sense. He couldn’t recall sleeping this late since...he didn’t know. He groped for his phone before he remembered it wasn’t there, but he had hit the remote for the curtains in his fumbling and they started to open, the light streaming in through the widening cracks. 

He swallowed a curse and grabbed the remote, pressing buttons until everything stopped moving. It might be late for _him_ , but it was still early and Michael seemed to be a naturally late riser if his mood yesterday had been any indication. 

Alex got his hands under him and craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Michael’s curls, golden where the light was hitting them. He seemed undisturbed and Alex slumped back in relief, wincing as the movement brought his attention to a morning annoyance. He glared at the bulge at his crotch, the last thing he needed right now, but looked up abruptly when he heard knocking.

“Room service, breakfast for the happy couple!” Max's voice called through the door.

_Fuck_

“Michael!” Alex hissed, concern for waking him gone at the thought of having to explain to Max why his brother was sleeping on the floor and not in bed with his fiancé. 

Michael groaned something, barely awake. Alex chucked a pillow at his head and he jerked up, startled.

“Max is at the door.” Alex gestured frantically and Michael turned at the next round of knocking; Alex saw the moment Michael snapped to full awareness in the sudden tension in his shoulders and he tried to ignore the effect the ripple of muscle had on his not-so-little problem. Michael scrambled to his feet, tossing the pillow back at Alex and throwing his blanket pile at the foot of the bed before sliding under the covers.

Alex turned onto his side, angling his hips away to shield Michael from the obvious lump, and gestured to his back. “Spoon me,” he ordered, glaring over his shoulder when Michael hesitated. He was brushing his hair out of his eyes when he felt Michael press against him and _oh._ He hadn’t considered Michael might be having the same problem he was. 

He froze in shock at the feeling, 3 years was a _long_ time after all, but before he could say anything Michael pushed away to sit up against the headboard. His arm snaked around the back of Alex’s neck and his forearm pressed against his chest, pulling his back against Michael’s side.

“Sorry, it’s morning.” Michael breathed, clearly attempting to keep his voice down.

Alex badly repressed a shiver at Michael’s low voice and the heat of his bare skin through Alex’s thin t-shirt, and he swallowed any reply he might have had when Michael called for Max to come in. He settled against Michael, ignoring how well he seemed to fit there at his side, and had a smile ready when Max and Isobel came through the door.

Max set a breakfast tray piled with cinnamon rolls down with a flourish at the end of the bed, but to Alex’s surprise it was Isobel who spoke.

“Max came up with a-” she paused, grimacing slightly, but continued when Max shot her a look. “-an idea. And I have been _persuaded_ -” at this she rolled her eyes at Max and he tsked, giving her up as a lost cause.

He turned to them, smiling widely. “We want you to get married here, tomorrow.”

Alex froze, mind going blank.

“...What.”

Michael’s voice was flat with surprise and Alex could feel how tense he had become next to him.

Max spread his hands. “Well you’re gonna get married anyway, so why don't you get married here where we can all be together?”

Michael shook his head, apparently still in shock. “But tomorrow is about Liz and-”

Liz swept into the room with two steaming mugs of coffee, interrupting his excuse. “I won't be able to travel for a while after the baby comes and I don't wanna miss this, chico.” She placed the mugs on the tray and tucked herself in next to Max where he folded his arm around her fondly. He beamed down at her and then turned imploringly back to Michael and Alex.

“This might be the best chance for us all to be there.” 

Alex would have sworn that Max was deliberately using his big, brown eyes for nefarious purposes, but he wasn’t positive that Max didn’t just look that earnest all the time. Either way, it was effective.

“Ok.” Michael said weakly, and Alex couldn’t begrudge him that when his mind was whirling too much to come up with an argument either.

Max grinned and squeezed Liz’s shoulders with his arm. “You can get married like we did, in the barn.”

Isobel scoffed. “Yes, another barn wedding. Not like they’re tacky or anything.”

“Izzy-” Max said warningly, and she threw her hands up. 

“Whatever, you can have your Pinterest wedding if you want.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder disdainfully. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some calls to make.” 

Isobel flounced out of the room and Max sighed. Liz rolled her eyes and patted Max’s arm.

“Come on, let’s leave the lovebirds to their breakfast. We have a lot of things to do too.” She winked at them and turned, gently pulling Max behind her.

“Leave it to us!” Max called over his shoulder. “We’ll have it all ready!”

When the door clicked shut Michael drew his knees up and let go of Alex, putting his head in his hands. “Oh my god. When they find out this whole thing is a sham Max will be crushed and Isobel will never trust again.”

Alex looked at him in concern, twisting slightly to face him. He put a tentative hand on his arm. “They're not gonna find out,” he said with a certainty he didn’t feel.

Michael ignored him, his fingers digging into his curls a little desperately. “Oh _fuck_ -”

“Hey, woah.” Alex recognized the beginning of a spiral and flattened his palm against Michael’s back almost without thinking. Michael twitched but didn’t make any move to dislodge him, and Alex soothingly rubbed his thumb where it was resting on Michael’s arm. “Breathe, ok?” He felt Michael’s back rise and fall more evenly under his hand and he nodded, encouraged. “It’s not like we’re gonna be married forever, we’ll be happily divorced before you know it. It will be fine.”

Michael took one big breath in and let it out in a woosh, his fingers and shoulders relaxing. After a moment his head tilted, looking at where Alex’s hand was still on his bicep, and Alex immediately let go.

“I’ll grab the coffee,” he said, covering his abrupt move by leaning forward and pulling the tray towards him. Michael looked askance at him but he ignored it, picking up a mug and the plate of cinnamon rolls and offering both to Michael.

Michael took the coffee and grabbed a roll. “You’re right,” he nodded. “It’ll be fine.”

Alex put the plate down and took a roll for himself, biting into it and holding back a moan over how unexpectedly good it was.

“Gotta admit I can’t cook like this though,” Alex joked lightly, trying to ease the tension. “I should learn before you leave me for another man.”

Michael snorted to himself. “Haven’t left you yet, Alex,” he muttered, and took a big bite of his roll.

Alex stiffened. No, Michael hadn’t left him. In fact, he had been an excellent assistant for the entire time he had worked for him. And Alex had rewarded that with selfishly dragging Michael into a half-baked plan that could land him in federal prison. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, and put the uneaten half of his cinnamon roll back on the plate.

Michael looked at him oddly. “You ok?”

Alex gave him a half smile and leaned over to grab his crutch. “Yeah I'm fine. I just kinda feel like going outside.”

He swung to the bathroom, his stomach churning. A walk would help clear his head.

Once outside Alex set off around the house, sinking into his thoughts.

Michael had agreed to this. Michael had actually forced _Alex’s_ hand to get something he wanted out of this. Alex nodded to himself. All they needed to do was get through this weekend, get through the interview Monday morning, and it would be fine. It would all be-

“Woah, son!”

Alex jerked to a stop where he had nearly bowled over an older man hauling a wagon of what looked like junk behind him, too lost in his head to have seen him.

“Sorry, sorry.” Alex held his hands up. He met the man’s eyes and twitched in surprise when he saw that one of them was covered with a patch.

The man put a hand to his chest and gave a theatrical sigh of relief. “Give an old man a heart attack, I’m a senior citizen you know.” 

The rebuke had no real bite to it, and Alex recognized the humor and the eyepatch from Michael’s welcome home party. Sanders, that was his name.

“You’re Alex,” Sanders was peering at him almost warily. “Michael’s boy.” He gave Alex an evaluating look, sweeping his eye up and down like he was passing judgment, and Alex stiffened.

“That a problem?” His tone was sharp but he didn’t care. This morning had started badly, he didn’t have the patience to make nice with a homophobe no matter how much Michael seemed to care about him.

“No.” 

Sanders’ tone was just as hard, and this time the reprimand was clear.

Alex shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of great experience with father figures,” he said lightly, playing it off. But his tension eased and his stomach unclenched a little. One less thing to worry about.

“I was the one that found them, you know.”

Alex jerked his head up to stare at the old man.

Sanders nodded slowly, looking at Alex like he understood. “Before I lost my eye I was a long haul trucker; saw the three of them wandering along the road one night and picked them up. This was the closest town. Never could figure out what had happened, where they’d come from. Checked up on them whenever I could, eventually came back to find Max and Isobel had been adopted and Michael hadn’t.”

Alex looked at him sharply. “But I thought-”

Sanders’ one eye gleamed at him and he snapped his mouth shut.

“They weren’t too keen on letting a junkyard dog who traveled for a living adopt a child. I don’t blame them, probably would have messed him up pretty bad. But I tried. And when they turned me down a second time I got real drunk and decided to ask Mr. and Mrs. Evans what gave them the right to leave that kid by himself.” He shook his head ruefully. “Not the best idea I’d ever had if I’m honest.”

Alex swallowed a laugh and tried not to show how much he wanted Sanders to keep talking.

The old man gave him a look like he knew anyway, and continued. “We had words, or more accurately I yelled until they called the cops. Lucky thing though, ‘cus when they were watching me get cuffed for drunk and disorderly they tried to explain they hadn’t taken Michael because he needed ‘special help’ on account of him causing a ruckus at the group home when they went to see the kids.” Sanders scoffed and Alex resisted an urge to do the same. “Turns out, the sheriff had been there too, ‘cept _she_ knew it hadn’t been Michael causing a ruckus, it was Max. Michael had been calming him down.”

Alex tried to reconcile the Max he had met with one that could have caused a scene big enough to be labeled with needing “special help” and came up short.

Sanders pointed meaningfully at him. “That was their reaction too, but the sheriff swore up and down it was the truth. At any rate, they got talked ‘round to giving Michael a trial period and when they saw how those kids were with each other, well…’inseparable’ doesn’t begin to cover it.”

Alex nodded. Even with what little he’d seen it was obvious that Max, Isobel, and Michael all had an easy way with each other that spoke to a deep bond, despite occasional disagreements.

“Next time I was back in town they’d adopted Michael too. I was happy for him but...I think he’s always remembered that time when he didn’t have Max and Isobel. He never settled the same way they did.” 

Alex shifted a little, remembering what Maria had said, and Sanders eyed him.

“Anyway, when I lost my eye and couldn’t haul anymore I wound up here. Took over the junkyard and chased Michael out a few times before I figured out he had magic hands. Then I let him tinker with whatever he wanted to, whenever he came my way.” Sanders jerked his chin at the heap of a truck sitting under its tarp. “He’s been working on that piece of scrap off and on for the last 10 years. Every once in a while he’ll ask me for parts.” He banged his knuckle against one of the items with him, making it clang. “It’s a lost cause but,” he shrugged, “makes him happy.” Sanders snorted. “Damn fool if you ask me, not like he could drive it anywhere if he did get it running.”

Alex quickly covered a laugh, but from the way Sanders slanted a sly smile at him he hadn’t hidden it very well.

“You calling me dumb old man?”

Alex looked up to find Michael walking towards them, a spring in his step and a grin on his face.

“And what if I am?” Sanders asked in a fond growl as Michael clapped him on the back.

Michael laughed. “I’d say that made you the smart one.”

He turned to Alex, amusement still lighting up his eyes, and Alex shoved his reaction to that down.

“Your phone arrived, you wanna go into town with me to pick it up?”

Alex perked up immediately. “Oh, great. Yes, that would be good.”

Michael smiled at him, then at Sanders.

“You gonna be ok if we leave you here all alone?” he teased, and Sanders shoved at him good naturedly. 

“Go on, git,” he said roughly, hiding a smile. “I’ve got work to do.”

Alex followed Michael down to the pier, the warmth of the conversation buoying his mood.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad.

\---

An honest-to-god brass bell tinkled as Michael pushed through the door of the general store in front of him, and Alex wondered if this town had literally been designed off of a postcard.

“Hey Arturo!” Michael called to the older man behind the counter, and he looked up with a smile.

“Michael, hola!”

“You got that phone I ordered?”

“Of course!” Arturo held up a finger. “It’s in the back, let me get it.” He turned and disappeared into the curtained doorway between the shelves behind the cash register, and Michael busied himself with picking up a handful of items.

“Fun fact about Michael number 13,” Michael began, holding up a small bottle. “I like tabasco on my eggs and my french toast, but never with my waffles.” He put the tabasco down on the counter with the other small items while Alex stared at him, baffled.

“You put tabasco on your french toast? What are you, an alien?”

Michael looked affronted, but before he could respond Arturo reappeared holding a box.

“Here we go, it’s all charged up Michael.”

“Thanks Arturo, I take these things as well,” he gestured to the counter and handed the box to Alex while Arturo started to ring him up.

Alex got the phone out and turned it on, checking his voicemail first thing. “Oh my god I have 37 messages.” He looked between Arturo and Micheal, slightly desperate. “Can I just...sit in a corner? I’m going to need to send a lot of emails.”

“Of course!” Arturo pointed to some small tables by the door.

Alex nodded his thanks and sat at one of them, already typing.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he hit “send” on the last one, slumping in his chair and rolling his shoulders from how tense they’d become. He looked up as the bell jingled and Max and Liz walked in.

“Hola Papi!” Liz made a beeline for the counter where Michael and Arturo were still chatting, Max close behind her.

“Mija!” Arturo greeted, and leaned forward to kiss Liz’s offered cheek. Liz smiled at him, then turned and spotted Alex.

“Oh there you are!” She looked conspiratorial. “We need to steal you away.”

Michael straightened, starting to gather his things together, but Max put an arm on his shoulder.

“Not you Michael, it’s wedding stuff. You’re not allowed. Bad luck.” Max grinned unrepentantly at Michael’s scoff.

Alex sighed and heaved to his feet, stowing his new phone in his pocket. “Alright,” he spread his hands. “Lead on, Macduff.”

Max’s eyes lit up. “Actually the line is ‘Lay on, Macduff.’ It’s one of Shakespeare’s most misquoted lines. Another one is from ‘Hamlet’, everyone _says_ -”

He was cut off by a chorus of groans.

“Max, can you at least wait until the poor boy is stuck to us permanently before you try to scare him off?” Liz fondly rolled her eyes.

“What?” Max hunched his shoulders defensively.

“Come on Alex, if we let him get started he’ll go all day.” Liz grabbed his arm and led him to the stairs at the back of the store, removing the small chain that marked the area as ‘employees only’ and starting up them. 

The upstairs was clearly where Arturo lived, and Liz deposited Alex in a guest room with a folded suit on the bed and an instruction to put it on. She closed the door behind her and Alex heard Max join her outside. 

“It’s the suit that I married Liz in.” Max called through the door, and Alex felt a twist of guilt in his stomach. It explained why the trouser cuffs were dragging on the floor though.

As if she read his mind, Liz broke in, “Don’t worry about the fit, my dad is an amazing tailor.” As an apparent after-thought she added “Oh, and you don’t have to wear the bolo, we can get you a silk tie.”

Alex finished tucking the shirt in and opened the door, holding still as Liz and Max looked him over critically.

“It’s a good fit.”

Liz gave him a flat look and he inclined his head. “Maybe a tad long in certain areas,” he allowed, hiding a small smile.

“Mm, yeah.” Liz tugged at his sleeve. “I was thinking,” she started, eyeing the cuff and deliberately avoiding his gaze, “if you’d like, we could head down your way for the holidays this year.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up and he glanced at Max, who smiled encouragingly. 

“That would be nice,” Alex ventured cautiously. “Or maybe...” he paused, uncertain. “Maybe we could come to you too. Since you’ll have the baby by then.”

Liz stilled and looked up at him, beaming. “I think we’d like that very much.”

She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes abruptly swimming with tears, and Alex’s gut clenched at the thought that he’d made her cry.

But Max seemed unconcerned, merely looking at her in a long-suffering way.

“Liz-”

Liz flapped a hand at him, fanning the other at her eyes like it would help them dry. “I know, I’m sorry, it’s hormones. Lemme go make a cup of tea and I’ll be fine.” She turned down the hallway into what must have been the kitchen and started banging cabinet doors.

Max shook his head ruefully. “It’s been like that for months.” He eyed Alex critically, then nodded. “One more thing and you’re ready.”

Max pulled a small object out of his pocket and looked down at it for a moment. He squinted at Alex.

“Did Michael tell you about us? I mean, before-” he gestured vaguely and Alex nodded. It had mostly been Sanders, actually, but Max didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, a little.”

Max pursed his lips. “None of us can remember much of anything,” he smiled thinly. “We were young, they think about 7, and whatever it was that happened must have been pretty traumatic because none of us spoke for months after they found us. I used to get dreams about a crash of some kind but…” He trailed off and shook his head.

“We all kept something from what we were wearing when they found us. Isobel had a necklace, I think it’s just the pendant now. A cheap thing. She’d deny that she has it, but I’ve seen it in her jewelry box.” Max gave a fond smile. “Michael’s was a belt buckle, he had it set into a bigger one so that he can still use it.” 

Max held out the object and Alex took it, finding a battered analog watch face with brand new leather bands attached.

“Mine was a wristwatch.” Max laughed self-consciously when Alex looked at him. “I know, I know, I’ve always been a nerd apparently.” He looked at the watch in Alex’s hands. “I put new bands on it so I could wear it if I wanted. It works too, it’s not just for show.” He pointed to the small knob on the side that Alex could see would serve to wind it up.

Max put his hands in his pockets and dropped his chin, scuffing his foot slightly.

“I want you to have it.”

Alex nearly dropped the watch.

“I can’t take this.” Near horror colored his tone, stunned that Max would even offer.

Max shrugged. “Michael’s always cared more about who our biological parents were. I kept it for sentiment but. It will mean more with you and Michael.” Max cast a long look over at where they could hear Liz clattering in the kitchen and Alex could practically _see_ him melt. “I’ve got my own family right here, I don’t need a reminder of the one I never really knew.”

He turned back to Alex and smiled. “Here,” he reached out and took the watch from Alex’s numb fingers, fastening it deftly around his wrist before Alex could think to protest.

“Perfect.” Max beamed at him, and Alex didn’t know what to say. “Now we just need to get Arturo up here and start getting you pinned.” Max headed for the stairs and Alex stared dumbly down at the watch on his wrist.

Oh, this was _bad_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex is cleaning up in the bathroom after a bath and is unaware Michael is in the room getting ready for a shower (Michael also doesn’t know that Alex is in the bathroom). Alex has to go out to get a towel and they literally run into each other while naked and accidentally end up on the floor. They separate pretty quickly and nothing happens except a little embarrassment. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “-and slammed into what felt like a wall of muscle” to “He took a breath and gathered both the quilt and his dignity”.
> 
> In this universe I’ve cast Noah as a serial arsonist. The events take place 10 years before the start of the fic and it’s only discussed as Michael’s not very detailed memories of the event, but the long and short is, Noah was operating undiscovered and trapped Isobel and the Evans’ in their house and set it on fire. Max and Michael get Isobel out but their parents die of smoke inhalation (so does Noah). This is the source of Michael’s nightmares he mentioned in chapter two and the reason Isobel has a foundational issue with relationships in general. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “I have nightmares because I was there when my parents died” to “My dreams aren’t...all bad”.
> 
> For this story I’ve given Mimi early-onset Alzheimers. Maria mentions it to Alex and talks about visiting her and not being recognized. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “‘Yeah.’ Maria let her gaze drift over the roof of the bar” to “‘But anyway,’ Maria drew her shoulders up”.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A character experiences a panic attack in this chapter and there is a potentially dangerous (but ultimately non-fatal) incident involving water. For details on either see the notes at the end of the chapter.

Michael was sunning himself on the boat when he heard the clatter of Alex making his way down the dock. 

He called a greeting, but Alex didn’t answer. Michael shrugged to himself, figuring Alex was focusing on getting into the cockpit without dying, and went about getting the boat ready. When Alex reached the boat and took his offered hand without comment though, Michael started to take it personally.

“Hello to you too, sweetheart,” he snipped, and tsked when he got no response. He leaned over the stern to get the last bit of mooring line free and nearly lost his balance when Alex revved the engine and peeled away from the dock.

“Woah, hey!” Michael yelled, scrambling back into the cockpit. He hadn’t even noticed Alex moving up to the bow, let alone known he knew how to operate a speedboat.

He made his way to the bow and got a hand on the top edge of the windshield to keep his balance. He finally got a look at Alex’s face and a chill went through him. Alex looked wrecked, like the world was ending and someone had kicked his dog on top of it.

“Alex! What’s wrong?”

Alex locked his jaw and didn’t answer, staring straight ahead.

Michael had a horrible thought and his stomach clenched. “Wait, did something happen to Liz? Is she-”

Alex cut him off with a sharp shake of his head, but he still didn’t say anything.

Michael was getting angry now, the list of possibilities besides ‘Alex is an ass’ quickly dwindling. “Then what the fuck, Manes?” 

Alex shot him a glare like this was in any way his fault, and Michael’s fingers clenched on the windshield. Alex caught the movement and made a choked sound. Like it had tried to be a laugh but got interrupted by a sob on the way out. Michael paused, now thoroughly confused and very worried. This wasn’t a mood he’d ever seen before.

“Alex.” Michael tried to sound more calm than he was.

Alex met his eyes briefly, blinking in the wind.

“Talk to me.”

“I-” Alex looked away, his mouth open and his throat working around words that didn’t seem like they wanted to come. “I forgot, ok!”

“You forgot what?!” Michael couldn’t think of anything Alex had with him that would warrant this level of reaction if he’d left it in the house.

“I forgot what it was like to have a family!”

Michael recoiled as if he’d been slapped. He’d never seen Alex like this, wild-eyed and panicky. Alex had been more vulnerable with him in the past two days than he could recall him ever being in two years, but that had been in the safety and plausible deniability of darkness. This was open and raw under the wide Alaska sky and he didn’t know what to do with it. 

Alex was one of the most carefully put together people he’d ever met, Michael didn’t know how to react to watching him fall apart.

“I’ve been on my own since I was 16; I forgot what it felt like to have people love you, and make you breakfast, and make holiday plans, and give you things. And you have all that here and I’m just screwing it up!” The floodgates had opened and Alex wasn’t holding back now. 

Michael braced against the windshield, fortifying himself. “You’re not screwing it up, I agreed to this! You were there, remember?”

Alex acted like he hadn’t heard him. “Your family loves you, do you know that?”

Michael swallowed hard. Alex couldn’t know that he’d hit on one of Michael’s own vulnerabilities, and he had to collect himself before he could answer truthfully.

“I know that, yes.”

“Oh my god, if they found out this was fake Max would be crushed. And Isobel would never trust again. And you would go to jail and I would never-” Alex let go of the wheel to put a hand over his chest, his breath gasping, and Michael dove to take control.

“Alex. Alex!” Michael shouted to get his attention and Alex jerked wide eyes his way.

“You’re having a panic attack, you need to breathe!” He saw Alex nod and sit heavily against the side of the boat, visibly counting his breaths.

Michael glanced back through the windshield and nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw a fast approaching buoy directly in front of them. “Shit, hold on!” He yanked the wheel and turned the boat hard, narrowly missing the danger. 

He kept his gaze firmly forward and scanned the water for other obstacles, but he strained to hear Alex behind him. After a few moments of nothing besides the boat engine he called over his shoulder. “Alex? You ok back there?” When he got no response he risked a look, and froze at the sight of an empty cockpit. Over the end of the stern he could see Alex’s dark head bobbing in the wake near the marker he’d just avoided and Michael swore savagely. Alex could swim, but his leg would drag him down and if he was already having trouble breathing…

Michael swung the boat around and raced back to where Alex was struggling in the water.

As he got closer he yelled over the engine. “Alex! The buoy! Grab the buoy!” He watched Alex splash across the short distance and latch on to the metal rungs at the base. He slowed to an idle and pulled alongside, maneuvering as close as he dared. Alex was clutching the buoy with both hands and coughs were wracking his body, but he didn’t seem like he was panicking. Or dying.

Michael craned over the side of the boat towards Alex. “Are you ok?” 

Alex coughed a few more times and nodded jerkily, already reaching a hand out to Michael. 

Michael stretched his own hand out and gripped Alex firmly as soon as he could. He pulled him to the boat and heaved, the water supporting Alex’s weight and making him easier to lift. Alex got his hip onto the gunwale and stopped for a moment with his legs hanging off the side. Then he leaned down and physically pulled his right leg up and into the cockpit, the prosthetic thunking on the floor. He swung his left leg over to follow and Michael got under his arm to help him to the bench seat across the back. They half sat, half fell together onto the padding and Michael grunted.

“Jesus you’re heavy.” He felt Alex start to shake next to him and he looked over in alarm. Then he gaped as Alex threw back his head and _laughed_.

Michael stared for a few moments, letting Alex work whatever this was out of his system. When he was down to small chuckles Michael spoke, his lips crooking up at the corners without his permission. “You mind letting me in on the joke?”

Alex giggled, clearly punch drunk on adrenaline. “Liz, ha, Liz was right.”

Michael furrowed his brow. “About what?”

Alex turned bright eyes and an only slightly unhinged grin on him. “You really are a flatterer.”

Michael scoffed and rolled his eyes, trying hard not to think about how Alex lit up when he smiled like that. He leaned forward and snagged a thick cardigan from the back pocket of the front seat; it was one of Max’s that Liz had stolen to wear over her growing belly when she was on the boat. More importantly it was dry and warm; Alex was shaking from more than just laughter and the last thing Michael needed on his conscience was a hypothermic fake fiancé.

MIchael turned back to Alex. “Here, take your shirt off.”

Alex looked askance at him. “You trying to get into my pants, Evans?”

Michael bit down on a smile. “No, I’m trying to get into your shirt. Keep up.” 

Alex snorted. “You and semantics.” But he complied, hands grasping the collar of his shirt and pulling it over his head. He emerged with his wet hair sticking up in spikes and Michael charitably decided not to mention the strong resemblance to a baby bird. Besides, Alex was shivering in earnest now and goosebumps rippled over his newly exposed skin. He needed heat, not snark.

Michael slid in tight next to Alex and flung the sweater around their shoulders, tucking himself as close as he could and snaking his arm over Alex’s back until he could rub his far bicep. He would NOT dwell on how surprisingly well-muscled Alex was. Or how soft his hair was, even wet. Or how Alex’s skin felt under his palm. Michael gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus on how cold Alex was right now rather than how hot he was otherwise.

Distracted as he was, Michael had to repress the instinct to jerk away when Alex abruptly turned his freezing nose into Michael’s neck and practically groaned in relief.

“Oh, you do run hot.” Alex’s words vibrated through Michael’s chest where they were pressed together and Michael tugged him closer almost on principle. Alex clutched the sweater tighter in front of him and Michael rubbed his arm vigorously, trying to will warmth into his body.

Alex shuddered a sigh against Michael’s collarbone and fell silent. “I’m sorry,” he said finally in a soft, small voice. Michael would have missed it if they weren’t so close.

Michael paused for a moment. “It wasn’t your fault,” he offered cautiously. “I should have been watching where we were going.”

Alex shook his head minutely, and Michael got the feeling he was apologizing for more than just the boat. Michael felt Alex take a breath and let it out slowly, his body tense where he was trying not to shiver. The water slapped gently against the hull, filling the quiet.

“I let go of the steering wheel.” Alex spoke in the same small voice, if a little stronger this time.

Michael leaned back to try to get a look at Alex’s face, but Alex was staring determinedly at the seat in front of him and wouldn’t meet his eyes. Michael tucked his chin over Alex’s damp hair instead and simply held him, wondering how long it had been since anyone had given Alex Manes a hug.

“It’s ok,” Michael said at last. 

He meant more than just the boat too.

\---

When they got back to the dock, Isobel was waiting for them, her arms crossed and her ponytail severe. “I need to talk to both of you.” She glanced at Alex, taking in his damp hair and the sweater he was clutching around him and raised an eyebrow. 

She didn’t say anything though, simply turned and strode off to the barn, leaving Michael and Alex to follow her.

When they got to the door Isobel paused, looking Michael in the eye. “Max can never know about this.” She heaved and the door slid open on its rollers, revealing Graham Green looking smug in a suit.

“Told you I’d check up on you,” he smirked.

Michael turned to Isobel, disbelief and shock making his voice deceptively soft. “What did you do.”

Isobel tossed her hair. “I got a call from Grant here-”

“Graham,” he corrected, eyes still fixed on Michael.

Isobel nodded an apology. “Excuse me, Graham, who told me if you were lying about your relationship, and he strongly believes that you are, he would send you to prison.” She paused, resigned. To her credit she didn’t seem happy about having been right as far as she knew. 

“So I flew him up here.”

Michael looked at her, his heart sinking. “Izzy...”

Green cut in, stepping closer. “Luckily for you, your sister negotiated a deal on your behalf.” 

Isobel tsked at Michael’s glance. “Believe it or not, I got something out of being married to Noah besides PTSD.”

Green continued, businesslike, as if Isobel hadn’t spoken. “Now, this offer’s going to last for 20 seconds so listen closely.” He pointed to Michael. “You're going to make a statement admitting this marriage is a sham or you’re gonna go to prison.You tell the truth, you’re off the hook.” He turned and pointed at Alex. “And he’s going back to Canada.”

Michael hesitated, thinking it over. He took in Alex who was standing, subdued, next to him and staring at Isobel with something that seemed like a mixture of respect and disappointment. He must have waited too long for Isobel’s liking because she suddenly spoke up sharply.

“Michael. Take the deal.”

Michael’s gaze lingered on Alex who hadn’t looked at him once since they had entered the barn. He slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” Alex’s eyes jerked to him at that, and something settled inside him.

“Don’t be stupid, Michael.” Isobel snapped, radiating anxious energy.

He glanced at her, then he set his jaw and leveled a glare at Green. “You want a statement? Here’s your statement. I’ve been working for Alex Manes for two years. Six months ago we started dating, we fell in love. I asked him to marry me, he said yes.” He turned back to Isobel, who seemed frozen in place. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

He put his arm around Alex’s shoulder and steered them both out the door and up to the house, ignoring the way Alex was staring at him.

Alex didn’t speak until they were in the guest room and he had changed out of his wet clothes and prosthetic, sitting on the bed wrapped in a blanket against lingering chills.

“You didn't have to do that,” he said quietly, looking at Michael almost warily.

Michael shrugged. “It's what we agreed to.”

Alex made a non-committal noise and picked at the edge of the quilt, and Michael had a sinking feeling.

“Alex,” Michael waited until Alex’s head came up before slowly continuing.

“You remember what we agreed, right? That you would ask me, this time, before making life-altering decisions that affect me? Because we’re in this together?”

Alex hesitated for a long moment, then nodded.

“Ok,” Michael turned and headed for the bathroom to get ready for bed, the subject dropped as far as he was concerned. When he came back out Alex was already tucked under the covers so he just went about getting settled in his now familiar spot on the floor, closing the curtains when he was done.

They didn’t talk at all that night.

\---

In retrospect Michael should have known better. Alex had never once, in the two years Michael had been his assistant, listened to a thing Michael had to say. But it wasn’t until he was standing in the barn in his best suit, after Sanders had walked him up the aisle because Max had insisted on escorting Alex in lieu of a family member, and the officiant was halfway through his spiel in front of all of Michael’s friends and family, that Michael found out how wrong he had been to assume the matter of Green’s surprise appearance had been well and truly dropped.

Alex was tense next to him, which should have clued him in, but he had put it down to nerves and the fact that Green was sitting in the audience, cool as a cucumber with his damn clipboard out and his phone ready to record their every word. It was only when Alex held up a hand to stop the ceremony mid-sentence that Michael started to get the idea that something was really off.

He was an idiot.

Alex started by turning to the small crowd in the barn. “Thank you so much for coming out. I have an announcement about the wedding. A confession, actually.” He squared his shoulders and raised his chin, clearly steeling himself.

“What are you doing.” Michael hissed, unease quickly congealing to fear in his stomach.

Alex ignored him. “I’m Canadian, with an expired visa who is about to be deported. And because I didn’t want to leave this wonderful country of yours, I forced Michael to marry me.”

“Alex, stop it.” Michael made an attempt to reach for him but stopped short when Alex leveled a look at him, and Michael was forcibly reminded that he had spent ten years in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Michael stood, frozen, as Alex unraveled everything they’d done over the past two days in a few sentences, painting himself as the villain like Michael hadn’t made the deliberate choice to help him lie. Like they weren’t equally responsible. 

When he was done, Alex turned to Max and Isobel. Max looked stunned while Isobel looked grimly satisfied, and Michael pushed down a savage surge of anger at the sight.

“You have a beautiful family. Don’t let this come between you.” Alex made to step away, and this time Michael did reach out and snag his sleeve.

“Alex.” He couldn’t get anything else out around a lump of warring emotions in his throat. Even if he had been able to speak, he wasn’t actually sure what he wanted to say.

Alex looked at him, and for a moment the mask cracked. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, and pulled his arm free. He straightened and turned away, finding Green in the audience.

“You, meet me at the dock. You’re giving me a ride to the airport.” With that he walked back down the makeshift aisle and out the door, back ramrod straight and eyes unwaveringly front.

Michael watched him go, hearing the murmurings start to grow in volume and vaguely aware of a yawning emptiness inside him that the remaining logical part of his brain didn’t think should be there.

He was shaken from his reverie by Max suddenly entering his field of vision, face contorted in confusion and dismay.

“What the hell Michael, you lied to us!”

“I know Max, I’m sorry.” Michael absently patted Max’s shoulder in apology, still looking at the space where Alex had been. “Let me get my head on straight, I’ll explain everything later.” 

Michael meant to follow after Alex immediately but was predictably waylaid by everyone and their mother, literally, and only managed to get free after he had reassured them all that he was fine but yes, Alex had been telling the truth.

He briskly made his way into the house only to find the guest room empty of both Alex and his things, and his heart sank. He walked slowly to the bed where the suit Alex had been wearing was laid out along with Max’s watch, and his breath hitched. He hadn’t noticed Alex had had it on, and he absently caressed the face of it with his fingertips. A folded piece of paper caught his eye and he picked it up, opening it to find a handwritten note.

\-- _You were right, the demo is good. I lied because passing it up the chain meant I’d lose you as an assistant. But you have an extraordinary ear, and I’ll make sure the right people are informed before I leave. Have an amazing life, you deserve it. Alex._ \--

“Well that was crazy.” 

Michael looked up to find Maria standing in the doorway with a wry smile, her arms crossed and a casual shoulder leaned against the frame. 

“You know how people talk in this town, they’re never gonna let this go.”

Michael nodded dumbly, thoughts still focused on the letter he was holding in his hand.

Maria frowned, concerned at his lack of response. “You ok?”

Michael shook his head slowly. “I just feel...you know what the problem is? The problem is that this man is a gigantic pain in my ass. First there’s the whole leaving thing, I understand that. It’s a sham wedding, it’s kind of stressful. But then he goes ahead and leaves this note, because he doesn’t have the decency, the _humanity_ to do it to my face. Two years. TWO YEARS I work with him, night and day, never once has he had a nice thing to say. And then he goes ahead and he writes this crap.”

“Michael,” Maria had dropped her arms and straightened, worried, but Michael plowed on.

“None of that matters though, because we had a deal. And he was supposed to _ask me_ -”

“Michael!” 

Maria’s tone cut through his spiral and he stopped abruptly, looking down in mild surprise where his tight grip had crumpled the paper. He let out his breath in a rush.

“Sorry, I’m sorry.” He smoothed the paper out again and gave Maria a weak smile. “Just, he makes me a little crazy.”

She nodded, eyes still sharp but her shoulders relaxed. “I can see that.” She waited a beat, then looked at him knowingly in that way that he would swear meant she could read his mind. “So, you’re just gonna let him go?”

Michael stared at her for a moment, then let a grin spread across his face as something clicked in his chest. 

“No.”

\---

Michael marched out of the house and towards the dock, having paused only briefly to change out of his suit. 

Isobel made a beeline for him as soon as she saw him walk outside, Max and Liz not far behind her, looking concerned.

“Where are you going?” Isobel looked like she already knew the answer to that question, so Michael responded to the intent he knew was behind it.

“I gotta talk to him,” Michael said shortly, not slowing down.

Isobel fell into step with him, Max and Liz a little further behind. “Why would you do that?”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Michael snapped, wrenching his arm away when Isobel tried to grab it.

They were almost to the dock and Michael was already making a travel plan in his head.

“I’m not going to let you do this.” Isobel’s voice was hard, and Michael’s thin hold on his temper snapped.

“I am not asking your permission!” He yelled, stopping abruptly and turning to face her. His fists were clenched at his sides, the pressure in his head threatening to spill out in a way he hadn’t felt in a very long time. 

Isobel recoiled, her face pale, and Michael felt a sick stab of guilt through his anger. He deliberately unclenched his hands and tried to relax his posture but he glared at her, not backing down.

Both of them were yanked from the stalemate by a shocked sound of pain from Liz.

Michael jerked around, his stomach dropping at the sight of her bent double with her hands on her belly.

“I think I’m going into labor!” Liz gasped, looking up with wide eyes. Max fluttered around her, his hands seemingly unsure of where to touch to best give comfort. He finally settled on her back and looked up.

“Somebody get a doctor!”

Maria, who had trailed after Michael out of the house, pulled out a cellphone and in no time at all a floatplane was landing at the dock and Liz was being hustled on board, Max at her side. Michael jumped after them and Isobel was the last one in, the EMT closing the door behind her.

They quickly took off and Michael watched Max squeeze Liz’s hand, his face paler than hers. 

“Sorry about your wedding, Michael.” Liz said over the roar of the plane, patting Max’s hand soothingly and breathing deeply and evenly around the tension in her body.

Michael was opening his mouth to tell her that it was ok, that it was his fault for getting wrapped up in the mess to begin with, when Isobel scoffed next to him.

“Better off without him in my opinion.”

Michael clenched his jaw hard, his temper flaring again.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said tightly, trying to get a handle on his emotions.

Isobel looked at him in disbelief. “I know he’s your boss! And you’re his assistant, and that does _not_ -”

“Enough!”

Michael jerked at Max’s yell, startled. Max was looking at both of them with real anger on his face, and that was rare.

“Isobel, you need to accept the fact that you can’t make judgment calls about other people’s relationships just because you had one that ended badly. And Michael, you can’t expect us to be able understand your relationship with Alex if you _lie_ to us about it!”

Michael hunched his shoulders, chastened. He snuck a glance at Isobel to see that she was similarly cowed. Max didn’t raise his voice often, so when he did it was usually something worth listening to.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking between Max and Isobel. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. Things just…” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed shortly. “Things just happened really fast and I didn’t know how to explain it.”

He turned to Isobel, his heart sinking when he saw her jaw set and her eyes hard. She wasn’t ready to give ground about this and he resigned himself to a fight. 

Liz suddenly sat up, effectively interrupting whatever Isobel had been going to say, and Michael paused to gawk at her.

“I’m feeling much better,” Liz announced, one hand absently cradling her belly but otherwise apparently completely at ease. She turned to the pilot and shouted to be heard over the engine. “No need to take us to the hospital. Take us to the airport!”

Michel stared and Max made a scandalized sound.

“What?” Liz looked entirely unrepentant. “It was the only way I could get us to the airport in time to catch Alex!” 

The copilot leaned back around his seat and lifted the mic on his headset clear of his mouth. “Ma’am, we’re not authorized to take you to the airport.”

Liz leveled one of her patented Looks at him and he seemed to shrink. 

“You got it.”

He lowered the mic and turned back to the pilot, saying something to him over the comm. Moments later, Michael felt the plane start to bank and he closed his eyes. He might make it after all.

They didn’t make it.

Michael stared at the passenger plane as it left the runway, his heart plummeting even as the plane lifted into the air.

“What’s wrong?” Isobel was climbing out of the floatplane next to where Liz and Max were standing a few feet away from where Michael was trying not to just sit down on the tarmac in utter dejection.

“Alex is on that plane.” Liz waved a hand at the quickly shrinking tail in frustration.

“So?” Isobel asked, clearly missing the severity of the moment.

Liz huffed impatiently. “Michael didn’t get to tell him.” 

“Tell him what?” Isobel looked between Liz and Michael, confused and irritated.

Max cut in, staring almost wistfully after the plane. “That he loves him. So Alex could tell him that he loves him too.”

He turned to Isobel when she didn’t respond and sighed, apparently despairing of his sister grasping the point.

“Alex wouldn’t have left if he didn’t love Michael,” he explained.

“What?” Isobel turned from Max to Michael, her brown crinkled in dawning realization. “Wait, you actually…” 

Michael looked miserably at Isobel. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were splotched with a flush she only got when she was agitated.

“Michael, I thought you hated him. I thought he was taking advantage of you. You’re saying you wanted this?”

Michael exhaled heavily and nodded.

Isobel’s hand flew to her mouth, her fingers trembling slightly. “Michael I’m-”

“It’s ok, Izzy,” he wobbled a smile at her. “You didn’t know.” He laughed shortly. “I don’t think I knew either, not really. Not until he left.”

Isobel took a breath and fisted her hands at her sides, accepting the truce. “So what now?”

Michael squared his shoulders and set his jaw, determined. “Now I go get him.”

\---

Finally back in New Mexico, Michael took the stairs at Colden two at a time, too restless to wait for the elevator. He wheeled into the hallway and nearly panicked at the sight of boxes outside Alex’s office. He resisted the urge to sprint but only barely, he still ended up skidding to a stop outside the open door. 

Alex looked up in surprise from where he was pacing, clearly in the middle of a phone call, and Michael let his shoulders drop in relief. He hadn’t missed him.

“Michael.” Alex’s wide eyes flicked down to Michael’s heaving chest and back up to his face, taken aback by Michael’s sudden appearance. “Why are you panting?”

Michael hadn’t actually thought this far ahead and his mind went blank. “...Because I’ve been running,” he said dumbly.

Alex, if possible, looked even more confused. “From Alaska?”

Michael shook his head sharply to clear the cobwebs. He had to _focus_. “I need to talk to you.”

Michael could see the moment Alex clicked back to his work persona. 

“Yeah, well, I don’t have time to talk. I need to catch a 5:45 to Toronto.”

Three days ago, Michael would have accepted the dismissal. Three days ago, he would have taken Alex’s armor at face value. Three days ago, Michael would have been pissed. 

But that was three days ago.

“Alex.”

Alex ignored him, continuing his conversation with the person on the other end of his call.

“Alex, stop talking!” Michael snapped. Alex jerked up and met his eyes, cutting off mid-sentence.

Michael gentled his tone. “Please. I gotta say something, and this will only take a sec.”

Alex paused, then sighed. “Hold on,” he said into his phone before pressing it to his chest, muffling the speaker. “Fine, what?”

“Three days ago, I loathed you. I thought you were an emotionless shell that only lived for work and had no real life outside this office.”

Alex grimaced. “Oh that’s nice-”

“I asked you to stop talking.” Michael cut him off, and his mouth clicked shut. Michael waited a moment before going on to make sure he wouldn’t be interrupted again. “Then we had our little adventure up in Alaska and things started to change. I saw a different side to you, a human side. A person that I actually _liked_. But I didn’t realize any of that until I was standing alone in a barn watching you walk away.” 

Alex’s mouth twisted, but he stayed quiet so Michael continued. “Now you can imagine my disappointment when it suddenly dawned on me that this interesting new person I’d just met, who is really hot by the way, was about to be kicked out of the country.”

Alex’s face was unreadable, and Michael took a steadying breath.

“So Alex…”

Michael glanced around and grabbed the nearest chair, pulling it over so he could sit in it. He looked up just in time to see Alex’s expression twitch.

“Marry me. Because I’d like to date you.”

Alex exhaled slowly, deliberately. “You don’t want to be with me.”

Michael frowned, more confused than annoyed. He thought he’d stated his case pretty well. 

“Yeah, I do.”

Alex swallowed, shaking his head. “See the thing is, there’s a reason I’ve been alone all this time. I-I’m comfortable that way.”

Michael’s gut clenched at the realization that Alex was trying to justify his own isolation. Three days ago he might have bought it too, but now…

“And I just think-” Alex continued, hesitating as he visibly searched for words. “...it would be a lot easier if we forgot everything that happened and I just left.” 

Michael stood and stepped closer to Alex, forcing him to meet his eyes. He wasn’t going to let Alex run, not this time.

“You’re right. That would be easier.”

Alex looked away, unable to hold Michael’s gaze, and Michael’s heart twisted.

“Alex.”

“What.” Alex glared at Michael, anger flaring for a moment in his eyes. 

Good. He could use that.

“You’re not alone, not in this.” Michael said, voice as soft as he could make it. “Ask me what I want.”

Alex tensed, his fingers flexing on the phone like he was fighting the urge to throw something. Or bolt. “What do you want, Michael,” he said tightly.

Michael took in the man in front of him; the wariness, the closely guarded humanity within a hard outer shell, the defensive posturing he had always mistaken for general ill-temperament. 

He met Alex’s eyes, smiled, and told him the simple truth. 

“You.”

He couldn’t be sure which of them moved first but all at once the phone had clattered to the floor, Alex’s hands were in his hair, and they were kissing. Michael’s blood was singing through him and he held onto Alex as fiercely as Alex was gripping him, neither of them willing to let go even when they had to stop for air. 

Alex pressed his forehead against Michael’s and Michael stroked his thumb gently over Alex’s cheek, savoring the moment.

The silence was broken by a slightly muffled voice from the floor.

“Mikey? Is that you?”

They both stared at the phone, Alex in distaste and Michael in shock.

“Rosa?!” Michael let go of Alex and stooped to pick up the phone.

Alex’s eyebrows went up in surprise but Michael was too focused on Rosa’s voice that was somehow coming out of Alex’s phone to pay him too much mind.

“Yeah, hey!”

“I-” Michael paused, at a loss for words. “You know only Liz gets to call me that.”

Alex looked between the phone and Michael’s dazed face. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah, Liz’s maiden name is Ortecho, Rosa is her kid sister.” Michael explained absently.

“Older sister!” Rosa said indignantly.

Michael’s mouth twisted wryly, amused. “Well you sure don’t act like it.”

Rosa apparently chose to ignore him. “Manes! Why didn’t you tell me you were marrying our Michael, of course I’ll do it! You’re family!”

Michael frowned, confused. “Do what?”

But it was Alex’s turn to look dazed and he didn’t answer.

“Email me the details Manes,” Rosa said breezily, blithely ignorant of the effect her words were having on the other end of the line. “I gotta go, so you two get back to doing whatever it was you were doing, ‘kay? It sounded fun. Bye!”

Rosa hung up and Alex flushed, shifting slightly on his feet in embarrassment. Michael rubbed his palm over his face and just laughed. He looked at Alex, smiling, and Alex gave him a tentative smile in return.

“I guess we need to make another trip to the immigration office,” Michael said, still grinning, and Alex scoffed at him.

“In a minute,” he said, and pulled Michael to him again.

Michael decided he could live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex has a panic attack over realising the scope of the effects of his actions (where he was headed at the end of last chapter). We see it through Michael’s eyes, and he’s the one who recognizes it and tells him to breathe. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “Alex was one of the most put together people he knew” to “Michael glanced back through the windshield”.
> 
> Alex and Michael are on the boat in an intense emotional moment and Alex falls out when Michael has to swerve hard to avoid a buoy. He swallows a little water but he’s fine, Michael turns right around to pick him up and there’s a nice cuddling for warmth moment. If you want to avoid the section, skip from “Michael glanced back through the windshield” to “Jesus you’re heavy”.


End file.
